Artificial insemination (AI) of pigs has grown exponentially as reproductive technology with more than a dozen of the top pig producers of the world inseminating >95% of the females in production schemes, at either nucleus or multiplication herds. Above 98% of AIs still concern liquid semen, often inseminated just within a day or maximum two from collected and extended, and most often using cer...

1. Methods of homogenizing suspensions of washed mammalian spermatozoa were studied. The most useful methods were those using sonication and those using a French press. 2. Hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, glucose phosphate isomerase and adenosine triphosphatase activities in ram, bull and boar spermatozoa were investigated by using these two homogenization methods. Glucose phosphate isomerase, ...

OBJECTIVE To examine whether a relationship exists between loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential and plasma membrane translocation of phosphatidylserine (PS) in subpopulations of human spermatozoa of men consulting for infertility. SETTING A tertiary institutional research center. DESIGN Prospective observational study. PATIENT(S) Twelve infertile men and five fertile controls wer...

Background: Sperm preparation is a fundamental step in ART and attempt for developing new methods to be continued. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of upstream method for separation of human spermatozoa and its effects on sperm parameters including: motility, morphology, and concentration. Materials and Methods: Semen samples from 17 men who referred to infertility clinic for evaluating thei...

AIM To determine whether in utero and neonatal exposure to a 60 Hz extremely low frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) results in spermatotoxicity and reproductive dysfunction in the F1 offspring of rats. METHODS Age-matched, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed continuously (21 h/day) to a 60 Hz EMF at field strengths of 0 (sham control), 5, 83.3 or 500 microT from day 6 of gestation th...

Interest in the physiologic and pathologic effects of ROS on male fertility is growing. The controlled generation of very low amounts of ROS seems to regulate the acquisition of sperm-fertilizing ability. High levels of ROS endanger sperm function and viability. Oxidative stress can arise as a consequence of excessive production of ROS or impaired antioxidant defense mechanisms in semen. Oxidat...

The outcome of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) depends mostly on the quality of input material (oocytes and sperm) used in these procedures. The number of transferable embryos produced in these programs depends on both provision of high quality mature oocytes and adequate numbers of good quality spermatozoa capable of supporting embryo development to term. Semen samples are cellular m...