High levels of oxidation–reduction potential in frozen‐thawed human semen are significantly correlated with poor post‐thaw sperm quality

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) in frozen‐thawed semen and the post‐thaw sperm parameters. Levels of ORP were measured in 25 samples from men presenting for routine infertility work‐up and were expressed as millivolt (mV)/106 sperm/ml. Frozen‐thawed samples were examined for post‐thaw total motility (TM%), progressive motility (PM%), total sperm count (TSC) and ORP. The cryo‐survival rate (CSR) was calculated as post‐thaw TM/pre‐freeze TM × 100. Data are provided as median and interquartile range (25th and 75th percentiles). The post‐thaw TM% (10.0% [4.00%, 15.1%]), PM% (5.88% [2.97%, 9.33%]) and TSC (12.5 [10.0, 17.5] × 106 sperm) were significantly lower than the pre‐freeze TM% (45.9% [32.9%, 59.1%], PM% (31.5% [24.4%, 40.0%] and TSC (120 [90, 250] ×106 sperm) (p < .001). Post‐thaw ORP (2.62 [2.52, 3.13] mV/106 sperm/ml) was significantly higher than pre‐freeze ORP (0.73 [0.54, 1.21] mV/106 sperm/ml; p < .001). The CSR was 21.7% (11.3%, 31.9%). The post‐thaw seminal ORP was negatively correlated with post‐thaw TM% (r = −.5; p = .02), PM% (r = −.41; p = .03), TSC (r = −.60; p = .03) and CSR (r = −.52; p = .01). Increased levels of ORP are significantly correlated with poor post‐thaw sperm quality and CSR.

Redox potential in human semen: Validation and qualification of the MiOX sys assay

“…ROS are very short-lived, and levels do not remain stable in semen over time (Vessey et al, 2014) published observations for the reliability of measuring sORP in fresh versus frozen semen samples Agarwal, Parekh, et al, 2019;Agarwal et al, 2016), this is the first time that the data and statistical analysis has been reported for snap freezing of raw semen to confirm this observation. Interestingly, a recent paper by Saleh et al (2020) has reported a significant increase in sORP in frozen-thawed semen frozen in cryoprotectant, which confirms previous observations by Thomson et al (2009) that the cryopreservation process induces seminal oxidative stress. The difference in observations between snap freezing raw semen versus freezing in cryoprotectant may be due in part to the length of time that the sperm are exposed to cryoprotectant before freezing and in the absence of antioxidant supplementation.…”

Effect of Genetic and Non-Genetic Factors on Male Sexual Performance in Awassi Rams

“…Many studies showed a significant differences in semen components according ram age, many of these differences because of changes in DNA structure [9]. Another studies proved a huge changes in semen components such as ROS , SOD and GPX enzymes levels which lead to crucial changes and wide variation in semen efficiency or ability for fertilization [10][11][12].…”

Frequency of Semen Collection Affects Ram Sperm Cryoresistance

“…This fact could be explained by the sensibility of MiOXSYS ® . In our previous studies, MiOXSYS ® technology has usually been employed to compare ram sperm with a highly different level of damage and oxidative stress: fresh, cooled and thawed samples that trigger a redox imbalance reflected in MiOXSYS ® indexes [ 53 , 55 ]. In this study, all samples were cryopreserved, and the great cryopreservation effect on redox balance could mask the differences among our experimental conditions (different frequency of semen collection).…”