Comparison of two commercial extenders to criopreservation of epididymal sperm from canine species

Abstract

Human-dog interaction has grown, increasingly, creating a solid link between man and the role of animals in society. Due to its important function of providing companionship and social well-being, the need to expand studies on canine reproduction sparked interest in veterinary medicine, focused on the maintenance of racial patterns and on genetic improvement. It is known that technologies related to canine semen processing, such as sperm cryopreservation, have been widely used and have achieved good results in reproductive processes. There are several studies related to the methodology for collecting and storing sperm cells, including the cryopreservation of semen collected through digital manipulation. However, the possibility of collecting sperm cells directly from the epididymis of males with high genetic value created a great challenge regarding the subsequent cryopreservation of the material. It is known that in the cryopreservation process, all sperm cells collected, a priori, must be added with a diluting medium, capable of reducing the damage caused by the freezing process. Thus, the extender must ensure the protection of the plasma membrane, and DNA integrity, in addition to preventing the reduction of sperm motility. Therefore, the study will evaluate the use of extenders in order to define protocols for reproductive biotechniques that guarantee ideal physiological conditions of the epididymal sperm after freezing, and therefore, the success of the technique of cryopreservation in dogs. (AU)