Author(s)

Xiaowei Shi^*, Huanhuan Hu^*, Guojie Ji, Rui Liu, Jing Zhang, Han Zhang, Pengbo Wang, Bingxin Qin, Bingjie Li, Mingwen Li

Key Laboratory of Fertility Preservation, School of Life Sciences and Technologies, Sanquan College of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China.

Limited information exists about the effects of antioxidants on sperm motility and DNA integrity during vitrification in humans. This study compared the effects of reduced glutathione (GSH) and monothioglycerol (MTG) at different concentrations on post-thaw sperm motility and DNA integrity after vitrification in humans using 0.25 M trehalose as a cryoprotective agent, and found that supplementation of MTG or GSH at 0.5 mM resulted in significantly higher (P < 0.05) recovery rates of post-thaw total and progressive motilities. GSH was more powerful than MTG at the same concentration in cryoprotecting sperm motility (38.9% ± 3.6% vs 32.8% ± 2.4% compared to the control 26.8% ± 2.1% in recovery rate of progressive motility), but both had no significant influence on sperm DNA integrity during vitrification. It was concluded that sperm motility is more sensitive to oxidative stress during vitrification than sperm nuclear DNA, and supplementation of MTG or GSH in vitrification medium is beneficial in cryoprotecting sperm motility.

Human, Sperm, Vitrification, Trehalose, Antioxidant

Shi, X. , Hu, H. , Ji, G. , Liu, R. , Zhang, J. , Zhang, H. , Wang, P. , Qin, B. , Li, B. and Li, M. (2020) Effects of MTG and GSH on Human Sperm Motility and DNA Integrity during Vitrification in the Presence of Trehalose. Advances in Reproductive Sciences, 8, 71-81. doi: 10.4236/arsci.2020.81007.