this study investigated the concentration/time dependent effects of nanosilver colloid on the motionparameters of the ejaculated ram spermatozoa in vitro. after incubation of sperm samples for 30, 60, 120 and 180 min in the presence of nanosilver colloid (0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 ppm), the motion parameters were evaluated by computer assisted sperm analysis. there was a significant (p

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is one of the important cytokines that play a role in fertility. It is known that EGF affects both male and female reproduction, but its effect on sperm parameters is not fully understood. Up to the present, the effect of EGF on ram sperm motility parameters has not been published. We analyzed motility parameters of ejaculates after 24, 48, and 72 hours from the EG...

Background: Aluminum, as an environmental pollutant, can exert oxidative stress on spermatogenesis and sperm morphology. Silymarin, an effective substance extracted from Silybum marianum, is a potent antioxidant which inhibits oxidative stress. Due to the damaging effects of aluminum on the male reproductive system as well as sperm and the role of silymarin, this study was performed to investig...

Background: Basal level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is essential for sperm acrosomal reaction, hyperactivation, motility, capacitation and fertilization. Ram spermatozoa contain large quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids in their plasma membranes so are extremely susceptible to ROS induced damage. Materials and Methods: Eight rams (36 ± 5 month of age and with a weight of 64 ± 7 kg) w...

Background Egg yolk is the main cryoprotectant agent in semen freezing extenders which is used in order to protect spermatozoa against cold shock. However elimination of animal bioproducts from the cryopreservation protocol is becoming mandatory. Therefore the aim of this study is to compare a previously studied homemade soya bean lecithin based extender with a commercially available extender f...

background: exposure to arsenic is associated with impairment of male reproductive function by inducing oxidative stress. silymarin with an antioxidant property scavenges free radicals. objective: the aim of this study was to investigate if silymarin can prevent the adverse effects of sodium arsenite on ram sperm plasma membrane and acrosome integrity. materials and methods: ram epidydimal sper...

Caffeine is a well-known sperm motility stimulator, however, its effects on cooling-stored ram semen are unknown. The aim of the study was to examine the effect of caffeine on selected motility and viability indices of cooling-stored ram spermatozoa. Sperm ejaculates from 4 rams were diluted (1:3) in a Triladyl extender. Samples were stored for 96 h at 4-5 °C in two sets. In the first set used ...

Background: Ram sperm have a higher polyunsaturated fatty acids and a lower cholesterol/phospholipid ratio than other species which renders the sperm much more vulnerable to oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Oxidative stress can affects the integrity of cells at both the structural and sub structural levels. Therefore, a suitable antioxidant may prevent cryo-injuries and...

background: egg yolk is the main cryoprotectant agent in semen freezing extenders which is used in order to protect spermatozoa against cold shock. however elimination of animal bioproducts from the cryopreservation protocol is becoming mandatory. therefore the aim of this study is to compare a previously studied homemade soya bean lecithin based extender with a commercially available extender ...

The basis for the unusual properties of the catalytic subunit (C) of ram sperm cAMP-dependent protein kinase was investigated. Ram sperm C was purified and found by mass spectrometry (MS) to be approximately 890 Da smaller than Calpha, the predominant somatic isoform. Partial internal amino acid sequence from ram sperm C was an exact match to that of bovine Calpha, but differed from the predict...