Sperm-bound antisperm antibodies are associated with poor cryosurvival of stallion spermatozoa.
Abstract: Different stallions exhibit a high level of variation in the ability of their sperm to survive cryopreservation. A large fraction of stallions show poor post-thaw sperm motility, and their semen is not suitable for commercial freezing. In this study, we hypothesized that the presence of sperm-bound antisperm antibodies (ASAs) was associated with poor cryosurvival of stallion sperm. Our objective was to assess the level of ASA binding to stallion sperm, and determine if it was associated with good or poor sperm cryosurvival. In Experiment 1, cooled shipped semen from 27 stallions was frozen using three commercial semen extenders. Sperm motility, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity and apoptosis were evaluated before and after freezing for each aliquot. In addition, the percentage of ASA-bound sperm was evaluated post-thaw. In Experiment 2, semen from 22 stallions was frozen immediately after collection a single formulation of semen extender. Sperm motility and ASA binding were evaluated post-thaw. The results of both experiments showed similar findings. The frequency of ASA-positive samples was higher among stallions with poor sperm cryosurvival (Exp. 1 and 2 = 6/11, 54.5%) than for good sperm cryosurvival (Exp. 1 = 0/16, 0%; Exp. 2 = 1/11, 9.1%). The percentage of IgG- and IgA-bound sperm was also higher in stallions with poor sperm cryosurvival in both experiments (P < 0.05). Post-thaw sperm motility, velocity and distance parameters were lower in ASA-positive than ASA-negative stallions (P < 0.005). No effect of the semen extender used was observed. In addition, stallions with ASAs had a higher percentage of apoptotic sperm than stallions without ASAs. The presence of sperm-bound ASAs was associated with poor cryosurvival for stallion spermatozoa. Thus, it may be beneficial to evaluate stallions for binding of ASAs prior to freezing to offer and indicator of the prognosis for cryosurvival.
Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2021-07-15 PubMed ID: 34303225DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.07.008Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
The research paper presents the study of the correlation between the presence of sperm-bound antisperm antibodies (ASAs) and the poor freezing survival of stallion sperm. The study indicates that stallions with a higher percentage of antisperm antibodies were associated with poor sperm cryosurvival.
Experimentation
- The study was done in two distinct experiments involving sperm from multiple stallions. In the first experiment, cooled semen from 27 stallions was frozen using three different commercial semen extenders. The quality of the sperm was evaluated before and after freezing, and antibody attachment to sperm was assessed post-thaw.
- In the second experiment, semen from 22 different stallions was frozen immediately after collection using a single semen extender. Following this, sperm motility and ASA binding were evaluated post-thaw.
Findings
- Results from both experiments showed that the presence of ASAs was higher among stallions with poor sperm cryosurvival than those with good sperm cryosurvival.
- A higher percentage of IgG and IgA-bound sperm was observed in stallions with poor sperm cryosurvival in both experiments (P < 0.05). This is particularly significant because it demonstrates the presence of a higher percentage of specific types of antibodies in stallions whose sperm had lower post-freezing survival rates.
- The research shows that stallions with ASAs had a higher percentage of apoptotic sperm than stallions without ASAs.
- Another important observation is that there was no significant effect of the semen extender used on the survival of the sperm post-freezing. This demonstrates that the presence of ASAs was a major influential factor in sperm cryosurvival.
Conclusion
- The research found that the presence of sperm-bound ASAs is associated with poor cryosurvival for stallion sperm.
- The data suggests that it could be beneficial to evaluate stallions for binding of ASAs prior to freezing. This would potentially offer an indicator of the prognosis for cryosurvival and could increase the efficiency of the sperm preservation process.
Cite This Article
APA
Ferrer MS, Canisso IF, Podico G, Ellerbrock RE, Hurley DJ, Palomares R.
(2021).
Sperm-bound antisperm antibodies are associated with poor cryosurvival of stallion spermatozoa.
Theriogenology, 172, 261-267.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.07.008 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Large Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA. Electronic address: msferrer@uga.edu.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA.
- Department of Large Animal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
- Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
- Department of Population Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Cryopreservation / veterinary
- Horses
- Male
- Semen
- Semen Preservation / veterinary
- Sperm Motility
- Spermatozoa
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.
Citations
This article has been cited 0 times.Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
