Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs
Artificial insemination (AI) is a valuable tool for ex situ wildlife conservation, allowing the re-infusion and dissemination of genetic material, even after death of the donor. However, the application of AI to species conservation is still limited, due mainly to the poor survival of cryopreserved...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3733 |
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| author | Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz Jennifer Beth Nagashima Michael James Noonan Adrienne E. Crosier Nucharin Songsasen |
| author_facet | Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz Jennifer Beth Nagashima Michael James Noonan Adrienne E. Crosier Nucharin Songsasen |
| author_sort | Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Artificial insemination (AI) is a valuable tool for ex situ wildlife conservation, allowing the re-infusion and dissemination of genetic material, even after death of the donor. However, the application of AI to species conservation is still limited, due mainly to the poor survival of cryopreserved sperm. Recent work demonstrated that oviductal extracellular vesicles (oEVs) improved cat sperm motility and reduced premature acrosomal exocytosis. Here, we build on these findings by describing the protein content of dog and cat oEVs and investigating whether the incubation of cryopreserved red wolf and cheetah sperm with oEVs during thawing improves sperm function. Both red wolf and cheetah sperm thawed with dog and cat oEVs, respectively, had more intact acrosomes than the non-EV controls. Moreover, red wolf sperm thawed in the presence of dog oEVs better maintained sperm motility over time (>15%) though such an improvement was not observed in cheetah sperm. Our work demonstrates that dog and cat oEVs carry proteins important for sperm function and improve post-thaw motility and/or acrosome integrity of red wolf and cheetah sperm in vitro. The findings show how oEVs can be a valuable tool for improving the success of AI with cryopreserved sperm in threatened species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:35:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-39bc97000d604a7f88d0c256d5305378 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-6596 1422-0067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:35:29Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Molecular Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-39bc97000d604a7f88d0c256d53053782023-11-20T01:42:30ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences1661-65961422-00672020-05-012110373310.3390/ijms21103733Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and CheetahsMarcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz0Jennifer Beth Nagashima1Michael James Noonan2Adrienne E. Crosier3Nucharin Songsasen4Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USASmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USASmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USASmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USASmithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630, USAArtificial insemination (AI) is a valuable tool for ex situ wildlife conservation, allowing the re-infusion and dissemination of genetic material, even after death of the donor. However, the application of AI to species conservation is still limited, due mainly to the poor survival of cryopreserved sperm. Recent work demonstrated that oviductal extracellular vesicles (oEVs) improved cat sperm motility and reduced premature acrosomal exocytosis. Here, we build on these findings by describing the protein content of dog and cat oEVs and investigating whether the incubation of cryopreserved red wolf and cheetah sperm with oEVs during thawing improves sperm function. Both red wolf and cheetah sperm thawed with dog and cat oEVs, respectively, had more intact acrosomes than the non-EV controls. Moreover, red wolf sperm thawed in the presence of dog oEVs better maintained sperm motility over time (>15%) though such an improvement was not observed in cheetah sperm. Our work demonstrates that dog and cat oEVs carry proteins important for sperm function and improve post-thaw motility and/or acrosome integrity of red wolf and cheetah sperm in vitro. The findings show how oEVs can be a valuable tool for improving the success of AI with cryopreserved sperm in threatened species.https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3733wildlifegamete rescueoviductcryopreservationsperm |
| spellingShingle | Marcia de Almeida Monteiro Melo Ferraz Jennifer Beth Nagashima Michael James Noonan Adrienne E. Crosier Nucharin Songsasen Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs International Journal of Molecular Sciences wildlife gamete rescue oviduct cryopreservation sperm |
| title | Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs |
| title_full | Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs |
| title_fullStr | Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs |
| title_short | Oviductal Extracellular Vesicles Improve Post-Thaw Sperm Function in Red Wolves and Cheetahs |
| title_sort | oviductal extracellular vesicles improve post thaw sperm function in red wolves and cheetahs |
| topic | wildlife gamete rescue oviduct cryopreservation sperm |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/10/3733 |
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