Epididymal tail solid-surface vitrification as an effective method for domestic cat sperm cryobanking

• Published in: Zygote (Cambridge) Vol. 29; no. 6; pp. 452 - 458
• Main Authors: Lima, Silmara L G, Soares, Airton R B, Stalker, Leanne, Santos, Regiane R, Domingues, Sheyla F S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Cambridge University Press 01.12.2021
• Subjects: Animals; Cats; Cryopreservation; Cryopreservation - veterinary; Cryoprotective Agents - pharmacology; Cryoprotectors; Domestic animals; Epididymis; Ethylene glycol; Glycerol; Integrity; Male; Morphology; Motility; Nitrogen; Plasma; Semen Preservation - veterinary; Solid surfaces; Sperm; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa; Sucrose; Tails; Vagina; Vitrification; Brazil; United States > US; Rio de Janeiro Brazil; Epididymis; Spermatozoa; CASA; Feline; Vitrification
• ISSN: 0967-1994; 1469-8730
• DOI: 10.1017/S096719942100006X

This study aimed to describe the viability of domestic feline spermatozoa after epididymal tail vitrification. For this, 10 pairs of testis-epididymis complexes were used. The epididymal tails were vitrified using the solid-surface vitrification (SSV) method, in which two vitrification media containing ethylene glycol (EG) 40% or glycerol (GLY) 40% were tested. Vitrification with the presence of EG resulted in better results for all sperm motility parameters (motility, vigour and CASA) compared with GLY (P < 0.05). There were no statistical differences for sperm viability and acrosome integrity, plasma membrane integrity, or overall health of morphologically normal sperm before or after vitrification among experimental groups. In conclusion, epididymal tail vitrification appears to be a suitable method for long-term storage of cat sperm, especially if the procedure is performed with EG as the cryoprotectant.