The proteome of frozen-thawed pig spermatozoa is dependent on the ejaculate fraction source

Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 24;9(1):705. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36624-5.

Abstract

The preservation of sperm functional parameters and fertility post-cryopreservation largely varies in the porcine, a species with a fractionated ejaculate. Although intrinsic individual differences have primarily been linked to this variation, differences in protein abundance among frozen-thawed (FT)-spermatozoa are far more relevant. This study, performed in two experiments, looked for proteomic quantitative differences between FT-sperm samples differing in post-thaw viability, motility, apoptosis, membrane lipid peroxidation and nuclear DNA fragmentation. The spermatozoa were either derived from the sperm-rich ejaculate fraction (SRF) or the entire ejaculate (Experiment 1) or from the first 10 mL of the SRF, the remaining SRF and the post-SRF (Experiment 2). Quantitative sperm proteomic differences were analysed using a LC-ESI-MS/MS-based SWATH approach. In Experiment 1, FT-spermatozoa from the SRF showed better preservation parameters than those from the entire ejaculate, with 26 Sus scrofa proteins with functional sperm relevance showing relative quantitative differences (FC ≥ 1.5) between sperm sources. In Experiment 2, FT-spermatozoa from the first 10 mL of the SRF and the remaining SRF were qualitatively better than those from the post-SRF, and 187 proteins showed relative quantitative differences among the three ejaculate sources. The results indicate that quantitative proteome differences are linked to sperm cryosurvival.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Membrane / metabolism*
  • Cryopreservation / veterinary*
  • Ejaculation
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Male
  • Proteome / analysis*
  • Semen / metabolism*
  • Semen Preservation / veterinary*
  • Sperm Motility
  • Spermatozoa / metabolism*
  • Swine

Substances

  • Proteome