Peña Fernando J, O'Flaherty Cristian, Ortiz Rodríguez José M, Martín Cano Francisco E, Gaitskell-Phillips Gemma L, Gil María C, Ortega Ferrusola Cristina
Laboratory of Equine Reproduction and Equine Spermatology, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain.
Departments of Surgery (Urology Division) and Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, QC H4A 3J1, Canada.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2019 Nov 19;8(11):567. doi: 10.3390/antiox8110567.
Redox regulation and oxidative stress have become areas of major interest in spermatology. Alteration of redox homeostasis is recognized as a significant cause of male factor infertility and is behind the damage that spermatozoa experience after freezing and thawing or conservation in a liquid state. While for a long time, oxidative stress was just considered an overproduction of reactive oxygen species, nowadays it is considered as a consequence of redox deregulation. Many essential aspects of spermatozoa functionality are redox regulated, with reversible oxidation of thiols in cysteine residues of key proteins acting as an "on-off" switch controlling sperm function. However, if deregulation occurs, these residues may experience irreversible oxidation and oxidative stress, leading to malfunction and ultimately death of the spermatozoa. Stallion spermatozoa are "professional producers" of reactive oxygen species due to their intense mitochondrial activity, and thus sophisticated systems to control redox homeostasis are also characteristic of the spermatozoa in the horse. As a result, and combined with the fact that embryos can easily be collected in this species, horses are a good model for the study of redox biology in the spermatozoa and its impact on the embryo.
氧化还原调节和氧化应激已成为精子学领域的主要研究热点。氧化还原稳态的改变被认为是男性因素不育的一个重要原因，也是精子在冷冻解冻或液态保存后所遭受损伤的背后原因。长期以来，氧化应激仅仅被认为是活性氧的过度产生，而如今它被视为氧化还原失调的结果。精子功能的许多重要方面都受到氧化还原调节，关键蛋白半胱氨酸残基中的硫醇可逆氧化充当控制精子功能的“开关”。然而，如果发生调节失控，这些残基可能会经历不可逆氧化和氧化应激，导致精子功能异常并最终死亡。由于种公马精子线粒体活动强烈，它们是活性氧的“专业生产者”，因此复杂的氧化还原稳态控制系统也是马精子的特征。因此，再加上该物种的胚胎易于采集，马是研究精子氧化还原生物学及其对胚胎影响的良好模型。
