Prochowska Sylwia, Niżański Wojciech, Fontbonne Alain
Department of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, pl. Grunwaldzki 49, 50-366 Wrocław, Poland.
École Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, 7 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94700 Maisons-Alfort, France.
Animals (Basel). 2022 Mar 31;12(7):903. doi: 10.3390/ani12070903.
Hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST) is used to assess the functional integrity of sperm plasma membranes in many species. The primary aim of this study was to test a simplified HOST procedure for the evaluation of feline semen. The second objective was to check if sperm abnormalities can influence the results of this test. Urethral semen was collected from 19 male, domestic cats. In Exp. 1, HOST was performed in different media (50 mOsm/kg fructose or distilled water), temperature (37 °C or room temperature) and time (5 and 30 min). In Exp. 2, the potential effect of sperm abnormalities on HOST results was assessed by observing individual normal and abnormal spermatozoa microinjected into droplets of distilled water. The results showed no differences between the HOST results performed in different media, temperature and time. Viable abnormal spermatozoa were able to swell under hypo-osmotic conditions in the same manner as normal ones, except spermatozoa with distal droplets, which showed a higher frequency of 'despiralization'. In conclusion, HOST can be reliably performed at 0 mOsm/kg for 5 min at room temperature, which may contribute to a wider use of this test under clinical environments. Viable abnormal spermatozoa are able to swell under hypo-osmotic conditions; therefore, their presence in the ejaculate would not bias the results of HOST when total coiling is calculated.
低渗肿胀试验（HOST）用于评估许多物种精子质膜的功能完整性。本研究的主要目的是测试一种简化的HOST程序用于评估猫精液。第二个目的是检查精子异常是否会影响该试验的结果。从19只家养雄性猫收集尿道精液。在实验1中，在不同介质（50 mOsm/kg果糖或蒸馏水）、温度（37°C或室温）和时间（5分钟和30分钟）下进行HOST试验。在实验2中，通过观察注射到蒸馏水滴中的单个正常和异常精子来评估精子异常对HOST结果的潜在影响。结果表明，在不同介质、温度和时间下进行的HOST试验结果之间没有差异。有活力的异常精子在低渗条件下能够与正常精子一样发生肿胀，除了带有远端液滴的精子，其“解螺旋”频率更高。总之，HOST试验可以在室温下以0 mOsm/kg可靠地进行5分钟，这可能有助于该试验在临床环境中更广泛地应用。有活力的异常精子在低渗条件下能够肿胀；因此，当计算总卷曲时，它们在射精中的存在不会使HOST试验结果产生偏差。
