The effect of hyaluronan on fertilization capability of mouse sperm before cryopreservation and after thawing

Abstract

Background: Freezing and thawing induce a number of insults to the sperm cells, such as low motility and low fertilization capability. For evaluation of hyaluronan (HA) supplementation on sperm characteristics, we investigated the effect of hyaluronan (HA) on mouse sperm before freezing and after thawing. Methods: For this purpose we removed cauda epididimes from 24 male mice with aseptic method and freezed the semen in 1.8ml cryotubes with %18 raffinose and %3 skim milk cryoprotectant solution.We had 4 groups: group 1(fresh control) group 2(freeze control) group 3(supplemented 750 µg/ml HA to sperm before freezing) and group 4(supplemented 750 µg/ml HA to sperm after thawing). Fertility rate evaluated after routine IVF by counting two-cell stage embryos. Results: HA supplementation (750µg/ml) after thawing improved fertilization capability parameters but supplementation before freezing had no effect on mentioned characteristic. Conclusion: Acording to data of present study the hyaluronan supplemen- tation (750µg/ml) after thawing has the greatest effect on the fertility rate of sperms.

Keywords

• Hyaluronan (HA)
• Cryoprotectant Agent (CPA)
• In Vitro Fertiliza-tion (IVF)
• Fertilization capability