Theriogenology
Soghra Abbaszadeh; Farhad Farrokhi-Ardabili; Hassan Malekinejad; Iraj Bernousi
Volume 9, Issue 2 , June 2018, , Pages 171-178
Abstract
This study was aimed to investigate the effects of 17 𝛽-estradiol (E2) and 𝛼-zearalenol (α-ZOL) on motility parameters, plasma membrane integrity, levels of produced nitric oxide (NO) and total antioxidant capacity of Ghezel ram sperm during the liquid storage at 4 ˚C, for various periods ...
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This study was aimed to investigate the effects of 17 𝛽-estradiol (E2) and 𝛼-zearalenol (α-ZOL) on motility parameters, plasma membrane integrity, levels of produced nitric oxide (NO) and total antioxidant capacity of Ghezel ram sperm during the liquid storage at 4 ˚C, for various periods of time. Semen samples were collected from four rams and diluted with Tris–egg yolk extender and supplemented with E2 (100 µmol) or different concentrations of α-ZOL (100 pmol, 100 nmol and 100 µmol) at a final concentration of 200 × 106 sperm per mL. We failed to show any significant effect of E2 at 100 µmol concentration on ram’s sperm parameters while α-ZOL resulted in a significant decrease of plasma membrane integrity at 100 µmol concentration (55.40% for α-ZOL vs 62.20% for control) after 96 hr incubation. Alpha-ZOL had decreasing effect on sperm motility parameters including curvilinear velocity and average path velocity at 100 µmol concentration after 96 hr storage. Although remarkable reduction of total antioxidant capacity at high concentration of α-ZOL and long incubation time was found, however no significant changes were recorded in NO level during storage time. It was concluded that the detrimental effect of α-ZOL on ram sperm might be attributed to its induced oxidative stress and damage to the plasma membrane.
Theriogenology
Ali Kadivar; Heidar Heidari Khoei; Hossein Hassanpour; Hamid Ghanaei; Arefeh Golestanfar; Hossein Mehraban; Najmeh Davoodian; Roohollah Dehghani Tafti
Volume 7, Issue 1 , March 2016, , Pages 27-34
Abstract
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a member of nuclear receptors superfamily, which mainly regulate the expression of target genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism. These receptors are divided to three isotypes: PPARα, PPARγ and PPARβ/δ. Each isotype ...
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Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a member of nuclear receptors superfamily, which mainly regulate the expression of target genes involved in lipid and energy metabolism. These receptors are divided to three isotypes: PPARα, PPARγ and PPARβ/δ. Each isotype has a distinct tissue distribution relating to the distinct functions. In this study, the mRNA abundance for PPARα, PPARγ and PPARβ/δ was evaluated and compared with high and low motile ram spermatozoa. Semen samples from 6 adult rams were fractionated on a two layer discontinuous Percoll gradient to high and low motile sperm and quantitative parameters of sperm motility were determined by CASA. Total RNA was extracted and the mRNA abundance for each gene was measured by relative quantification technique with Real time PCR. The levels of three isotypes of PPAR transcripts were significantly higher in high motile semen samples using quantitative RT-PCR. Some of sperm motility indices were also significantly correlated with PPARα and PPARγ relative expression. This study revealed the novel association of PPAR gene isotypes with sperm motility. Data from our study suggested PPARs are one of the possible factors that can be studied in male infertility.
Embryology
Hossain Hassanpour; Ali Kadivar; Pejman Mirshokraei; Hassan Nazari; Azita Afzali; Maryam Badisanaye
Volume 6, Issue 2 , June 2015, , Pages 125-130
Abstract
Sertoli cells are an essential group of cells in seminiferous epithelium which provide nutritional and structural supports for spermatogenic cells via cell junctions. In this study, the gene expression of connexin-43, the most abundantly distributed gap junction protein of cells, was investigated in ...
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Sertoli cells are an essential group of cells in seminiferous epithelium which provide nutritional and structural supports for spermatogenic cells via cell junctions. In this study, the gene expression of connexin-43, the most abundantly distributed gap junction protein of cells, was investigated in ram Sertoli cells under mild and severe heat stresses with real-time quantitative PCR. Sertoli cells were isolated from testes of 10 lambs. After culture and 3 passages, they were treated with mild (39 ˚C) and severe (42 ˚C) heat stress for 6 hr. The results showed a significant reduction in the percentage of live cells under severe heat stress compared to the control group (32 ˚C), (p <0.05). Relative quantification analysis revealed significantly higher (3.80 fold increase) values of connexin-43 transcripts in severely heat stressed group than control group (p <0.05). It is concluded that challenging Sertoli cells with 42 ˚C heat could threaten their survival, and overexpression of connexin-43 may cause dysfunction of Sertoli cells due to heat stress. These findings can be useful to identify the molecular mechanisms involved in adverse effects of heat stress on male reproduction and enhance our understanding of its pathogenesis.
Somayeh Mostafapor; Farhad Farrokhi Ardebili
Volume 5, Issue 2 , June 2014, , Pages 101-105
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dilution rate and holding time on various motility parameters using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). The semen samples were collected from three Ghezel rams. Samples were diluted in seminal plasma (SP), phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing ...
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of dilution rate and holding time on various motility parameters using computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA). The semen samples were collected from three Ghezel rams. Samples were diluted in seminal plasma (SP), phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) containing 1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Bioexcell. The motility parameters that computed and recorded by CASA include curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), straightness (STR), linearity (LIN), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH), and beat cross frequency (BCF). In all diluters, there was a decrease in the average of all three parameters of sperms movement velocity as the time passed, but density of this decrease was more intensive in SP. The average of ALH between diluters indicated a significant difference, as it was more in Bioexcell in comparison with the similar amount in SP and PBS. The average of LIN in the diluted sperms in Bioexcell was less than two other diluters in all three times. The motility parameters of the diluted sperms in Bioexcell and PBS indicated an important and considerable difference with the diluted sperms in SP. According to the gained results, the Bioexcell has greater ability in preserving motility of sperm in comparison with the other diluters but as SP is considered as physiological environment for sperm. It seems that the evaluation of the motility parameters in Bioexcell and PBS cannot be an accurate and comparable evaluation with SP.
