Institute for Reproduction of Farm Animals Schönow, Bernauer Allee 10, 16321, Bernau, Germany.
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Heart Center Brandenburg, Brandenburg Medical School "Theodor-Fontane", Faculty of Health Brandenburg, Ladeburger Str. 17, 16321, Bernau, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2020 Dec 17;10(1):22258. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79415-7.
The increase of fertility performance in sows is one of the biggest achievements in pig production over the last 30 years. Nevertheless, pig farms using artificial insemination (AI) repeatedly experienced in recent year's fertility problems with dramatic consequences due to toxic compounds from plastic semen bags. In particular, bisphenol A diglycidyl-ether (BADGE) present in multilayer plastic bags can leach into the semen and could affect the functionality of the spermatozoa. Former studies could not find any alterations in spermatozoa based on the exposure to BADGE. The aim of the study was to evaluate effects of BADGE on boar spermatozoa using an extended panel of spermatological methods. In spring 2019, a large drop in farrowing rates from 92.6 ± 2.3% to 63.7 ± 11.1% in four sow farms in Croatia was detected. In migration studies, BADGE could be identified as a causal toxic compound and leached into the extended semen in concentration of 0.37 ± 0.05 mg/L. Detailed spermatological studies showed that significant predictors for effects on spermatozoa were different levels of motility and kinematic data after a prolonged storage time, thermo-resistance test (prolonged incubation time), mitochondrial activity, membrane integrity and fluidity. No serious effects were observed for sperm morphology and DNA fragmentation. These results provide new insights into the development of a new quality assurance concept for a detailed spermatological examination during testing of plastic materials for boar semen preservation. It could be shown that boar spermatozoa are an excellent biosensor to detect potential toxicity and fertility-relevant compounds.
提高母猪的繁殖性能是过去 30 年来养猪业的最大成就之一。然而，近年来，使用人工授精（AI）的猪场由于塑料精液袋中的有毒化合物，反复出现严重的繁殖问题。特别是，存在于多层塑料袋中的双酚 A 二缩水甘油醚（BADGE）可能会浸出到精液中，并影响精子的功能。以前的研究没有发现基于 BADGE 暴露的精子发生任何改变。本研究的目的是使用扩展的精子发生方法评估 BADGE 对公猪精子的影响。2019 年春季，克罗地亚的四个母猪场的分娩率从 92.6±2.3%大幅下降至 63.7±11.1%。在迁移研究中，BADGE 被确定为一种因果毒性化合物，并以 0.37±0.05mg/L 的浓度浸出到延长的精液中。详细的精子发生研究表明，对精子产生影响的显著预测因子是经过长时间储存后不同水平的运动和运动学数据、耐热性测试（延长孵育时间）、线粒体活性、膜完整性和流动性。精子形态和 DNA 碎片化没有受到严重影响。这些结果为开发新的质量保证概念提供了新的见解，即在测试用于保存公猪精液的塑料材料时，对精子发生进行详细的检查。结果表明，公猪精子是一种极好的生物传感器，可以检测潜在的毒性和与繁殖相关的化合物。
