title: The effect of heparin, caffeine and calcium ionophore A23187 on in vitro induction of the acrosome reaction in frozen-thawed bovine and caprine spermatozoa.
abstract: The effect of heparin (5 IU), caffeine (5 mM) and calcium-ionophore A23187 (0.1 mM) on motility and in vitro induction of the acrosome reaction in glass wool filtered frozen-thawed bull and goat semen was studied. The motile spermatozoa fraction was obtained after glass wool filtration of frozen-thawed semen. The seminal plasma was removed from filtered semen by centrifugation, and the sperm pellet was resuspended in Sperm-TALP medium. Samples of treated and untreated control semen of both species were incubated at 37 degrees C. At 1, 15 and 30 min of incubation the proportions of progressively motile and acrosome-reacted spermatozoa were assessed. Trypan blue and Giemsa stain was used to differentiate live and dead spermatozoa having undergone acrosome reaction. Glass wool filtration enhanced the proportion of motile spermatozoa from 43% to 62% in the bovine and from 41% to 60% in the caprine. Whereas the effect of incubation with caffeine, heparin and calcium-ionophore on spermatozoan motility was negligible, the treatment of semen with calcium-ionophore resulted in a significantly improved percentage of live spermatozoa with true acrosome reaction at all stages of incubation, both in the bovine and the caprine.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Animal Husbandry and Genetics, Goettingen, Germany.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Tuli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wallenhorst
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Holtz
mesh_terms: D020101:Acrosome Reaction / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001399:Azure Stains / Q000737:chemistry; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000001:Calcimycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D004396:Coloring Agents / Q000737:chemistry; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D006041:Goats / Q000502:physiology*; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000502:physiology; D007476:Ionophores / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast / Q000662:veterinary; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014343:Trypan Blue / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D001399:Azure Stains; D004396:Coloring Agents; D007476:Ionophores; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D000001:Calcimycin; D002110:Caffeine; D006493:Heparin; D014343:Trypan Blue