Guo Qing, Liu Xue, Li Yang, Cheng Ye, Li Jingchun
College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University, Daqing 163319, China.
Animals (Basel). 2025 May 17;15(10):1450. doi: 10.3390/ani15101450.
Porcine artificial insemination primarily utilizes liquid-preserved (17 °C) semen; however, the quality of sperm diminishes progressively with extended preservation time. Ergothioneine (EGT) is a mitochondria-targeting antioxidant. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effect of various concentrations of EGT (0, 0.15, 0.3, and 0.6 mM) on the quality of boar sperm during liquid preservation and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of the mitochondrial electron respiratory chain inhibitor ROT. The results demonstrated that the addition of 0.3 mM EGT to the modified Modena extender significantly improved sperm motility and kinetic parameters, as well as mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), adenosine triphosphate (ATP), antioxidant capacity, and the integrity of both the sperm plasma membrane and acrosome. Additionally, ROT significantly inhibited sperm motility, kinetic parameters, MMP, ATP levels, antioxidant capacity, and sperm integrity of the plasma membrane and acrosome. However, these adverse effects could be partially mitigated by the addition of 0.3 mM EGT. In conclusion, the novel findings of this study indicated that EGT plays a crucial role in protecting sperm from oxidative damage by regulating the mitochondrial electron respiratory chain, suggesting that the use of EGT is a promising approach for enhancing the liquid preservation efficiency of boar semen at 17 °C.
猪人工授精主要使用液体保存（17°C）的精液；然而，随着保存时间的延长，精子质量会逐渐下降。麦角硫因（EGT）是一种靶向线粒体的抗氧化剂。因此，本研究旨在分析不同浓度的EGT（0、0.15、0.3和0.6 mM）对公猪精子在液体保存期间质量的影响，并阐明线粒体电子呼吸链抑制剂鱼藤酮（ROT）的潜在作用机制。结果表明，在改良的摩德纳稀释液中添加0.3 mM EGT可显著提高精子活力和运动参数，以及线粒体膜电位（MMP）、三磷酸腺苷（ATP）、抗氧化能力，以及精子质膜和顶体的完整性。此外，ROT显著抑制精子活力、运动参数、MMP、ATP水平、抗氧化能力以及精子质膜和顶体的完整性。然而，添加0.3 mM EGT可部分减轻这些不利影响。总之，本研究的新发现表明，EGT通过调节线粒体电子呼吸链在保护精子免受氧化损伤方面发挥关键作用，这表明使用EGT是提高公猪精液在17°C下液体保存效率的一种有前景的方法。
