Cryopreservation and fertility of ejaculated and epididymal sperm from subfertile stallions

• Grant number: 10/18039-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2011 - March 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Frederico Ozanam Papa
• Grantee: Frederico Ozanam Papa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The recovery of spermatozoa from the epididymal cauda allows the preservation of genetic material from valuable stallions that died suddenly, had to be euthanized or submitted to emergency bilateral orchiectomy. Therefore, subfertile stallions may also benefit from this technique, since epididymal sperm has no contact with the potentially deleterious secretions of accessory glands. The aim of the present study is to compare the viability of ejaculated and epididymal sperm from subfertile stallions. For this, the addition of different extenders, seminal plasma, DNA integrity, lipid peroxidation, apoptosis rate and fertility of ejaculated and epididymal sperm from subfertile stallion will be evaluated. Moreover, components of seminal plasma, estrogen and testosterone receptors from testicle and epididymis of fertile and subfertile stallions will be compared. (AU)