In vitro antioxidant activity of the prostatic secretory granules in rabbit semen after exposure to organic peroxides

Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology

Research

Alessandro Dal Bosco¹  Evangelia Mourvaki¹  Raffaella Cardinali¹  Cesare Castellini¹ 

[1] Department of Applied Biology,, Section of Animal Science, University of Perugia,, Borgo XX Giugno 74,, 06100, Perugia,, Italy;

关键词: High Performance Liquid Chromatography;    Seminal Plasma;    Acrosome Reaction;    Organic Peroxide;    Motile Cell;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1477-7827-8-16

 received in 2009-12-10, accepted in 2010-02-23,  发布年份 2010

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe prostate gland of rabbits produces numerous granules, which are specifically implicated in the inhibition of sperm capacitation during the first hours after mating. These granules are rich in vitamin E, but their role in the antioxidant protection of rabbit sperm has not been studied.Aim of studyThe objectives of this study were to investigate whether the prostatic secretory granules (PSGs) could prevent sperm induced-lipid peroxidation and to verify a potential involvement of tocopherols from the PSGs to the sperm.MethodsWashed sperm samples taken from eighteen White New Zealand rabbits were either incubated with tert-butyl-hydroperoxide (t-BHP, an oxidative stressor) or with buffered Tyrode's medium for 1 hour. The same number of sperm samples that contained PSGs were subjected to the previously mentioned treatments and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), vitamin E compounds and the acrosome status were assessed.ResultsThe incubation of the sperm with t-BHP resulted in a noticeable production of TBARS (0.38 vs. 0.22 nmol/10(7) cells) and an associated decrease of alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T, 72.3 vs. 103.2 nmol/10(8) cells) with respect to the sperm samples containing PSGs. The sperm incubated with the PSGs had a higher amount of alpha-T compared to the control (292.2 vs. 251.0 nmol/10(8) cells). The acrosome status was not affected by the occurrence of the organic peroxide in the medium and the amount of capacitated sperm was lower when the PSGs were also present.ConclusionsOverall, these results suggest that the PSGs may represent a source of protection for rabbit sperm against in vitro oxidative stress by supplying the sperm with endogenous alpha-T. This mechanism could be in part involved in the inhibition of sperm capacitation by the granules.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Mourvaki et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2010