title: Microsurgical and Percutaneous Epididymal Sperm Aspiration for Sperm Collection from Live Mice.
abstract: Spermatozoa for in vitro fertilization of mouse oocytes and other methods of assisted reproduction typically are collected from the cauda epididymis of euthanized male mice. As an alternative to this terminal protocol, we developed and examined 2 methods for collecting sperm from anesthetized male mice without decreasing subsequent fertility: microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration and, as a refinement, percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration. Collected sperm was evaluated in terms of motility, concentration and in vitro fertilization ability. After recovery, both treated and untreated control male mice underwent in vivo fertility testing and subsequent histologic analysis of the treated male reproductive tract (epididymis and testis). In vitro fertilization using sperm recovered by the 2 collection methods was successfully achieved in all cases. The in vivo fertility test and the histologic analysis revealed no impairment of fertility and no permanent histologic alteration in the treated mice. Therefore, we recommend both techniques as simple and effective methods for recovering high-quality epididymal mouse sperm without having to euthanize fertile male mice.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Animal Science and Biomodels, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Auke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boersma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Animal Science and Biomodels, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Olszanska
authors.affiliation: VetCore Facility for Research, VetBiobank Unit, and Institute of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Institute of Laboratory Animal Science and Biomodels, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. thomas.ruelicke@vetmeduni.ac.at.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rülicke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004822:Epididymis / Q000502:physiology; D005298:Fertility; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice / Q000502:physiology*; D053625:Sperm Retrieval / Q000662:veterinary*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*; D013737:Testis / Q000502:physiology