Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana IL.
Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA.
J Equine Vet Sci. 2021 Jun;101:103450. doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2021.103450. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
This study aimed to describe and compare semen parameters (pre-freeze and post-freezing) and antisperm antibodies (ASA) of donkeys with epididymal sperm granuloma and healthy controls. Feral donkeys (n = 10) castrated in a concurrent study were enrolled in the present experiment. Three donkeys had unilateral granulomas, two donkeys had bilateral granulomas, whereas the remaining five had grossly normal epididymides. The granulomas were either single or multiple, firm, well-circumscribed, tan to red, and 1-5 mm in size. Upon incision, abundant, thick, tan to white-yellow fluid was recovered. Histopathology revealed epithelioid macrophages, multinucleated giant cells, and abundant sperm cell fragments with mineralized cellular debris. Each epididymis was dissected, and semen harvested for cryopreservation. Semen was assessed for sperm motility parameters, plasma membrane integrity, and mitochondrial membrane potential. All donkeys had semen cryopreserved in a standard manner. In addition, post-thaw semen from all donkeys was assessed for ASA (IgG and IgA), acrosome integrity and morphology. Post-thaw, the progressive sperm motility and the percentage of sperm with an intact plasma membrane were reduced in donkeys with sperm granuloma (P = 0.04). There was no difference in total sperm motility, morphology, or damaged acrosome across groups (P > 0.05). Three donkeys with sperm granuloma (60%) displayed increased IgG and IgA ASA. In conclusion, sperm granulomas only marginally affected sperm quality and resulted in IgG ASA binding to sperm with damaged plasma membrane. It remains to be determined if sperm granuloma and ASA affect fertility in donkeys.
本研究旨在描述和比较患有附睾精子肉芽肿的驴和健康对照组的精液参数（冷冻前和冷冻后）和抗精子抗体（ASA）。在一项同期研究中被去势的野生驴（n=10）被纳入本实验。三头驴单侧有肉芽肿，两头驴双侧有肉芽肿，而其余五头驴的附睾肉眼正常。肉芽肿是单个或多个的，质地坚硬，边界清楚，呈棕红色至红色，大小为 1-5 毫米。切开时，可回收大量、浓稠的棕黄色至黄白色液体。组织病理学显示上皮样巨噬细胞、多核巨细胞和大量含有矿化细胞碎片的精子细胞片段。每个附睾均被解剖，采集精液进行冷冻保存。对精液进行精子运动参数、质膜完整性和线粒体膜电位评估。所有驴的精液均以标准方式冷冻保存。此外，所有驴的冻后精液均评估了 ASA（IgG 和 IgA）、顶体完整性和形态。冻后，患有精子肉芽肿的驴的精子前向运动和质膜完整的精子比例降低（P=0.04）。各组的总精子活力、形态或受损顶体无差异（P>0.05）。三头患有精子肉芽肿的驴（60%）显示 IgG 和 IgA ASA 增加。总之，精子肉芽肿仅轻微影响精子质量，并导致 IgG ASA 与质膜受损的精子结合。尚需确定精子肉芽肿和 ASA 是否会影响驴的生育能力。
