Effect of osmolality and glycosaminoglycans on motility, capacitation, acrosome reaction, and in vitro fertilizability of bovine ejaculated sperm.
Bovine ejaculated semen was placed in a modified Tyrode's medium with albumin, lactate, and pyruvate. The sperm were washed three times and subjected to nine treatment in a 3 X 3 factorial arrangement. Treatments consisted of osmolality (exposure to 380 mOsmol/kg medium for 5 min, exposure to 340 or 295 mOsmol/kg medium for the entire incubation period), and the presence or absence of glycosaminoglycans (100 micrograms/ml chondroitin sulfate A or 10 micrograms/ml heparin). Sperm were examined at 4.5 h, 8 to 9 h, and 24 to 25 h of incubation (37 degrees C, 5% CO2, and 95% air). Heparin caused head-to-head agglutination of sperm, raised the percent sperm without seminal antigens over the acrosome (capacitated) by 20% at 4.5 h, and doubled the percent of acrosome-reacted sperm. However, this stimulation did not improve in vitro fertilizability. Chondroitin sulfate A tended to maintain motility, but did not affect capacitation or the acrosome reaction, possibly due to glucose inhibition. Both high osmolality treatments tended to reduce motility, especially after 24 h of incubation when the 340 osmolality treatment reduced motility by 14% over the 295 treatment. No consistent effect on capacitation was observed. The 340 and 380 osmolality treatments induced 8.6 and 6.1% more acrosome reactions by 24 h than the 295 treatment. The 340 mOsmol/kg treatment yielded insignificantly higher in vitro fertilization rates, as evidenced by development of zygotes to the two-cell stage. Lack of statistical significance was due to high variation with in vitro fertilization rates.
D000177:Acrosome / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000187:drug effects*; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D013075:Sperm Capacitation / Q000187:drug effects; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D006493:Heparin; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates