Influence of pentoxifylline and caffeine on stallion epididymal sperm motility after thawing

Miroslava Mráčková,Šárka Krisová,Petra Andrlová,Lenka Vojtěchovská,Markéta Sedlinská

doi:10.2754/avb202190030271

Miroslava Mráčková, Šárka Krisová + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.2754/avb202190030271

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Abstract

Two substances at two concentrations each were added to frozen-thawed stallion epididymal spermatozoa to improve motility indicators, which were assessed 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after thawing. Pentoxifylline was added at concentrations of 3.6 mM (1 mg/ml) and 7.18 mM (2 mg/ml). Both concentrations had a positive effect on total and progressive motility of spermatozoa throughout the study. The other substance, caffeine, was added at concentrations of 2 mM (0.4 mg/ml) and 5.5 mM (1 mg/ml). Both concentrations had a positive effect on total and progressive motility of spermatozoa only 30 and 60 min after thawing. Subsequently, 180 min after thawing, improvement was found only in total sperm motility.

Highlights

Two substances at two concentrations each were added to frozen-thawed stallion epididymal spermatozoa to improve motility indicators, which were assessed 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after thawing
Addition of PTX at both concentrations had a positive effect on total motility (TM) of spermatozoa throughout the study
Caffeine showed a positive effect on sperm total motility in most cases

Summary

Introduction

Two substances at two concentrations each were added to frozen-thawed stallion epididymal spermatozoa to improve motility indicators, which were assessed 30, 60, 120, 180 and 240 min after thawing. Pentoxifylline (PTX) and caffeine (CAF) are readily available and their effect on ejaculated sperm motility has been studied before (Gradil and Ball 2000; Melo-Oña et al 2012; Stephens et al 2013; Tsunoda et al 2015). Information about their effect on epididymal spermatozoa is scarce (Guasti et al 2013). The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different PTX and CAF concentrations on selected motility indicators of stallion epididymal sperm in time. To the authors’ knowledge, there is only one study detailing the influence of PTX and CAF on ejaculated sperm over time (150 min only) (Stephens et al 2013)

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