Oxidative Stress (OS) is reported as one of the main causes of male infertility. Infertile couples often resort to assisted reproductive technology (ART) to achieve parenthood. However, preparation for ART protocols increases the exposer of gametes to OS. Thus, it is crucial to find suitable preservation media that can counteract the OS-induced damages in spermatozoa. In this work, we tested and compared the efficiency of vitamin C (VC) and hyperoside (HYP) as potential antioxidant supplements for sperm preservation media.
We evaluated the cytotoxicity of HYP (0, 5, 50, 100, and 500 µM) in spermatozoa. After incubation of sperm cells with VC (600 µM) and HYP (100 and 500 µM), in the presence and absence of H2O2 (300 µM), the following parameters were assessed: total sperm motility and vitality, OS biomarkers expression, total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of the media, percentage of DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and metabolite quantification of the media by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR).
The supplementation with VC (600 µM) and HYP (100 and 500 µM) did not induce any deleterious effects to the physiology and metabolism of the spermatozoa, after 1-hour of treatment. In the presence of H2O2 (300 µM), both VC and HYP were able to prevent some of the deleterious effects of H2O2 in sperm, which were represented by an increase in sperm motility, a decrease in DNA fragmentation, and a decreasing trend in lipid peroxidation levels. However, these antioxidants were not able to prevent the decrease of MMP associated with H2O2 treatment, nor were able to prevent the conversion of pyruvate into acetate (a reaction promoted by H2O2).
The supplementation of sperm preservation media with VC and HYP could be beneficial for the preservation of sperm physiology. From the antioxidant conditions tested, the supplementation of media with HYP (100 µM) demonstrated the best results regarding sperm preservation, evidencing the higher antioxidant capacity of HYP compared to VC. Nevertheless, none of the antioxidants used was able to prevent the metabolic alterations promoted by H2O2 in spermatozoa.
Cellular physiology and biochemistry : international journal of experimental cellular physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology. 2022 Jan 08 [Epub]
Mafalda V Moreira, Sara C Pereira, Bárbara Guerra-Carvalho, David F Carrageta, Soraia Pinto, Alberto Barros, Branca M Silva, Pedro F Oliveira, Marco G Alves
Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal., Department of Anatomy and UMIB - Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal., Centre for Reproductive Genetics Professor Alberto Barros, Porto, Portugal., University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal., QOPNA & LAQV, Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal., Department of Anatomy and UMIB - Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine, ICBAS - School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, .