title: Effect of semen extenders on frozen-thawed boar sperm characteristics and distribution in the female genital tract after deep intrauterine insemination in sows.
abstract: We compared the effects of extenders of frozen-thawed semen on post-thaw sperm characteristics and the distribution of frozen-thawed spermatozoa in the female genital tract after fixed-timed deep intrauterine insemination (DIUI) in sows. Frozen semen samples were thawed and diluted in either modified Modena solution (mMS) or porcine fertilization medium (PFM) containing theophylline, adenosine and cysteine. Sperm quality, assessed in vitro based on motility using a computer-assisted sperm analyzer and the integrity of the plasma and acrosomal membranes using flow cytometry, was evaluated at 0.5, 1.5, 3 and 6h after thawing. Progressive motility and the percentage of spermatozoa with damaged acrosomal membranes in PFM were significantly better than in mMS throughout the 6h. Sows with estrus synchronized using prostaglandin F2 alpha, equine chorionic gonadotropin and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were inseminated once with mMS- or PFM-diluted 5 × 10(8) frozen-thawed spermatozoa by DIUI at 34 h after the hCG injection. At 4h after DIUI, reproductive tracts were recovered from 30 sows. There were significantly fewer polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and more spermatozoa outside PMNs in the uterine horn after PFM treatment than with mMS. When 22 sows were administered DIUI with 10 × 10(8) frozen-thawed spermatozoa at 36 h after hCG, the pregnancy rates did not differ significantly between the mMS- (36%) and PFM- (64%) treated groups. Thus, PFM enhanced progressive sperm motility but increased sperm membrane damage compared with mMS; it also suppressed the migration of PMNs into the uterine lumen.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Michiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. Electronic address: kojiyos@affrc.go.jp.
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshioka
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hikono
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Animal Health, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Chie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D005615:Freezing; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000662:veterinary*; D013552:Swine; D014599:Uterus
keywords: Adenosine; Deep intrauterine insemination; Frozen-thawed semen; Pig; Theophylline