Assessment of the Susceptibility of Boar Semen to Oxidative Stress

Abstract

The present study was conducted to assess boar sperm susceptibility to oxidative stress generated by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Semen was collected in replicates from three experimental large white boars using the gloved-hand technique. Semen ejaculates from three boars were treated with different concentrations of H2O2 for three hours. SYBR-14 and Propidium Iodide (PI) Live/ Dead assay kit was used to determine cell viability, and Yo-pro-1 and PI apoptosis kit was used to determine cell death, namely, apoptosis. Boar sperm motility obtained using computer aided sperm analysis (CASA) was between 90% and 100% with more than 98% viability with 0% apoptotic cells. In H2O2 treated boar sperm cells, rapid (RAP) and progressive motility (PM) increased. Also, H2O2 treatment induced a high positive correlation with apoptosis but high negative correlation with viability. Hydrogen peroxide decreased boar semen total motility (TM) by 10%. In addition, most of the boar sperm cells became apoptotic and lost 55% of viability under oxidative stress induced by H2O2. This study illustrated that boar semen was more susceptible to oxidative stress induced by H2O2.