title: Boar sperm changes after sorting and encapsulation in barium alginate membranes.
abstract: A routine use of boar-sexed semen is limited by the long sorting time necessary to obtain an adequate number of sexed spermatozoa for artificial insemination and by the high susceptibility of spermatozoa of this species to damages induced by sorting procedure and subsequent cryopreservation. The aim of this work was to study the impact of encapsulation in barium alginate membrane on sorted boar spermatozoa by evaluating membrane integrity, chlortetracycline staining patterns, protein tyrosine phosphorylation, and Hsp70 immunolocalization during storage over 72 hours in liquid or encapsulated form. The encapsulation procedure significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the overall membrane integrity of control unsorted semen (81.8 vs. 57.4, CTR vs. CPS), but did not negatively affect the overall viability and the chlortetracycline staining patterns of sorted encapsulated cells. Moreover, encapsulation significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the overall phosphotyrosin A pattern cell percentage in unsorted (98.4 vs. 92.6, CTR vs. CPS) but not in sorted semen (64.0 vs. 74.2; SORT CTR vs. SORT CPS). As for Hsp70, the overall percentage of cells displaying the different patterns was significantly influenced (P < 0.05) by treatment but not by storage time. The sorting procedure seems to induce the major changes, whereas encapsulation tends to exert a protective effect on sorted semen by increasing the percentage of spermatozoa displaying the T pattern (2.8 vs. 24.3; SORT CTR vs. SORT CPS). In conclusion, our data confirm that the damaging impact of the encapsulation in barium alginate capsules seems to be limited when compared with that of the sorting procedure and, moreover, the association of the two procedures does not result in an algebraic sum of the negative effects. These results suggest the possibility of a future utilization of the encapsulation technology in order to store sorted spermatozoa and permit their controlled release in the female genital tract.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences-DIMEVET, University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy. marcella.spinaci@unibo.it
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spinaci
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bucci
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chlapanidas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vallorani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perteghella
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Communod
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vigo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tamanini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Galeati
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Faustini
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Torre
mesh_terms: D000464:Alginates / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D006603:Hexuronic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D012743:Sex Preselection / Q000662:veterinary; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects*; D013552:Swine / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000464:Alginates; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: Alginate capsules; Boar spermatozoa; Sex-sorting; Storage