Changes in sperm parameters and lipid composition of the plasma membrane of equine spermatozoa during the epididymal transport and seminal plasma contact

• Grant number: 13/06520-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2013
• End date: February 22, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Frederico Ozanam Papa
• Grantee: Gabriel Augusto Monteiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The lipid composition of the sperm plasma membrane has an important role in the maintenance of its structural integrity. The spermatozoa undergo morphological and functional changes as it pass through the epididymis as a result of several mechanisms known generally as sperm maturation. During this path, the sperm plasma membrane undergo renovations of lipid and protein which are essential for the acquisition of fertilization capacity. These modifications during epididymal transit are highly selective and the study of these changes is essential to better understand of the sperm physiology and cryobiology. Understanding how the profile of lipids present in the sperm plasma membrane is modified during the epididymal transit and in the ejaculated will be a necessary advance to improve the viability and fertility of cryopreserved semen samples. Thus, this study aims to analyze the changes in the lipid profile of the plasma membrane of equine spermatozoa at the epididymal transit and seminal plasma contact, correlating with the sperm kinetic and viability parameters of stallions with poor and high semen quality.