Abstract
F4-neuroprostanes (F4-NeuroPs), derived from the oxidative metabolization of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are considered biomarkers of oxidative stress in neurodegenerative diseases. Neurons and spermatozoa display a high DHA content. NeuroPs might possess biological activities. The aim of this in vitro study was to investigate the biological effects of chemically synthetized 4-F4t-NeuroP and 10-F4t-NeuroP in human sperm. Total progressive sperm motility (p < 0.05) and linearity (p = 0.016), evaluated by a computer-assisted sperm analyzer, were significantly increased in samples incubated with 7 ng F4-NeuroPs compared to non-supplemented controls. Sperm capacitation was tested in rabbit and swim-up-selected human sperm by chlortetracycline fluorescence assay. A higher percentage of capacitated sperm (p < 0.01) was observed in samples incubated in F4-NeuroPs than in the controls. However, the percentage of capacitated sperm was not different in F4-NeuroPs and calcium ionophore treatments at 2 h incubation. The phosphorylated form of AMPKα was detected by immunofluorescence analysis; after 2 h F4-NeuroP incubation, a dotted signal appeared in the entire sperm tail, and in controls, sperm were labeled in the mid-piece. A defined level of seminal F4-NeuroPs (7 ng) showed a biological activity in sperm function; its addition in sperm suspensions stimulated capacitation, increasing the number of sperm able to fertilize.
Highlights
F4 -neuroprostanes (F4 -NeuroPs) are prostaglandin-like molecules generated by nonenzymatic oxidation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22: 6 n-3)
Oxidative stress and polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation have been reported to be relevant to the semen quality [10,11,12,13,14]
The results indicated that the used F4 -NeuroP concentration in rabbit sperm accelerated the time of capacitation almost to calcium ionophore
Summary
F4 -neuroprostanes (F4 -NeuroPs) are prostaglandin-like molecules generated by nonenzymatic oxidation of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22: 6 n-3). DHA may be nonenzymatically oxidized into different classes of neuroprostanes Musiek and colleagues [7] reported that the quantification of F4 -NeuroPs provides a highly selective quantitative window for neuronal oxidative damage in vivo. The presence of seminal DHA and measurement of the n-6/n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) ratio [11] are important to assess semen quality [12]. Oxidative stress and polyunsaturated fatty acid oxidation have been reported to be relevant to the semen quality [10,11,12,13,14]. It is practical to assess the relevance of F4 -NeuroPs in male infertility as a promising tool to indicate reproductive capacity
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