Graduate School of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology, Kindai University, Wakayama 649-6493, Japan.
IVF Namba Clinic, Osaka 550-0015, Japan.
J Reprod Dev. 2021 Apr 21;67(2):123-133. doi: 10.1262/jrd.2020-150. Epub 2021 Feb 6.
Methylglyoxal (MG) is a precursor for the generation of endogenous advanced glycation end-products involved in various diseases, including infertility. The present study evaluated the motility and developmental competence after in vitro fertilization of mouse sperm which were exposed to MG in the capacitation medium for 1.5 h. Sperm motility was analyzed using an SQA-V automated sperm quality analyzer. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), membrane integrity, mitochondrial membrane potential, and DNA damage were assessed using flow cytometry. The matured oocytes were inseminated with MG-exposed sperm, and subsequently, the fertilization and embryonic development in vitro were evaluated in vitro. The exposure of sperm to MG did not considerably affect the swim-up of sperm but resulted in a deteriorated sperm motility in a concentration-dependent manner, which was associated with a decreased mitochondrial activity. However, these effects was not accompanied by obvious ROS accumulation or DNA damage. Furthermore, MG diminished the fertilization rate and developmental competence, even after normal fertilization. Collectively, a short-term exposure to MG during sperm capacitation had a critical impact on sperm motility and subsequent embryonic development after fertilization. Considering that sperm would remain in vivo for up to 3 days until fertilization, our findings suggest that sperm can be affected by MG in the female reproductive organs, which may be associated with infertility.
甲基乙二醛（MG）是参与各种疾病（包括不育症）的内源性糖基化终产物生成的前体。本研究评估了在体外受精中暴露于 MG 的精子的运动能力和发育能力，这些精子在顶体反应培养基中暴露了 1.5 小时。使用 SQA-V 自动精子质量分析仪分析精子运动能力。使用流式细胞术评估细胞内活性氧（ROS）、膜完整性、线粒体膜电位和 DNA 损伤。将成熟的卵母细胞与暴露于 MG 的精子受精，然后在体外评估体外受精和胚胎发育。精子暴露于 MG 不会显著影响精子的泳动，但会导致精子运动能力以浓度依赖的方式恶化，这与线粒体活性降低有关。然而，这些影响并没有伴随着明显的 ROS 积累或 DNA 损伤。此外，MG 降低了受精率和发育能力，即使在正常受精后也是如此。总的来说，在精子顶体反应期间短期暴露于 MG 对精子运动能力和随后的受精后胚胎发育有重大影响。考虑到精子在体内要停留长达 3 天才能受精，我们的研究结果表明，MG 可能会影响女性生殖器官中的精子，这可能与不育症有关。
