Lan Qun, Xue Li'e, Cao Jiacheng, Xie Yingyu, Xiao Tianfang, Fang Shaoming
College of Animal Science (College of Bee Science), Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Jun 9;9:904886. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.904886. eCollection 2022.
Liquid preservation of boar sperm is crucial for artificial insemination application in pig production. However, time-dependent oxidative damage to sperm is one of the major challenges during the liquid preservation period. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) possesses excellent antioxidant properties and has potential therapeutic use in reproductive organ injury linked to oxidative stress. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) involves in modulating the cellular redox state and exerts a beneficial effect on sperm preservation. In the present study, we firstly assessed different concentrations of CAPE that affect sperm quality during liquid storage to determine the appropriate addition. To further investigate whether CAPE exerts protective effects on boar sperm through modulation of AMPK activity, sperm quality parameters, antioxidant capacity, and marker protein expressions were evaluated under co-incubation with HO. The results showed that sperm treated with 210 μmol/L CAPE exhibited the highest motion parameters (total motility and progressive motility) and best functional integrity (mitochondrial activity, plasma membrane integrity, and acrosomal integrity). Even in the presence of HO, the addition of 210 μmol/L CAPE not only significantly improved sperm quality parameters, but also elevated CAT, SOD, and GSH-Px activities to enhance sperm antioxidant capacity. In addition, we found that CAPE could affect the protein activities of AMPK, phospho-AMPK α (p-AMPK), SOD, and Caspase-3 regardless of whether HO is present or not. Our findings suggested that CAPE has potential application in liquid preservation of boar sperm and preliminary indicated that CAPE-induced improvement of sperm quality and antioxidant capacity should be mediated through conservation of AMPK activity. Further studies are required to illustrate the specific mechanism by which CAPE attenuates oxidative stress-mediated damages dependent on AMPK activity.
公猪精液的液体保存对于猪生产中的人工授精应用至关重要。然而，精液随时间的氧化损伤是液体保存期间的主要挑战之一。咖啡酸苯乙酯（CAPE）具有出色的抗氧化特性，在与氧化应激相关的生殖器官损伤中具有潜在的治疗用途。单磷酸腺苷（AMP）激活的蛋白激酶（AMPK）参与调节细胞氧化还原状态，并对精子保存发挥有益作用。在本研究中，我们首先评估了不同浓度的CAPE对液体保存期间精子质量的影响，以确定合适的添加量。为了进一步研究CAPE是否通过调节AMPK活性对公猪精子发挥保护作用，在与HO共同孵育的条件下评估了精子质量参数、抗氧化能力和标记蛋白表达。结果表明，用210 μmol/L CAPE处理的精子表现出最高的运动参数（总活力和渐进性活力）和最佳的功能完整性（线粒体活性、质膜完整性和顶体完整性）。即使在存在HO的情况下，添加210 μmol/L CAPE不仅显著改善了精子质量参数，还提高了CAT、SOD和GSH-Px活性，以增强精子的抗氧化能力。此外，我们发现无论是否存在HO，CAPE都能影响AMPK、磷酸化AMPKα（p-AMPK）、SOD和Caspase-3的蛋白活性。我们的研究结果表明，CAPE在公猪精液的液体保存中具有潜在应用，并初步表明CAPE诱导的精子质量和抗氧化能力的改善应通过AMPK活性的维持来介导。需要进一步的研究来说明CAPE减轻依赖于AMPK活性的氧化应激介导损伤的具体机制。
