Value of semen parameters, with special reference to TNF-α, in predicting the quality of boar semen after short-term storage

• Published in: Acta veterinaria Hungarica (Budapest. 1983) Vol. 61; no. 2; p. 209
• Main Authors: Mrkun, Janko, Kosec, Marjan, Zrimšek, Petra
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hungary 01.06.2013
• Subjects: Animals; Male; Semen; Semen Analysis; Semen Preservation; Sperm Motility; Spermatozoa; Swine; Time Factors; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• ISSN: 0236-6290
• DOI: 10.1556/AVet.2013.009

The aim of this study was to address the question whether changes in boar semen quality after short-term storage could be predicted on the basis of standard semen parameters and TNF-α level determined on the day of semen collection under commercial conditions. Progressive motility showed the highest positive correlation with morphology on day 0 of collection, and progressive motility on day 3 (P < 0.05) showed a negative correlation with acrosome abnormalities (P < 0.05). According to the area under receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves (AUCs), progressive motility could also be used in predicting semen quality after 3 days of storage (AUC > 0.5; P < 0.05). TNF-α in seminal plasma is the only parameter measured on day 0 to show a significant correlation with the percentage of viable spermatozoa after 3 days of semen storage (r = 0.495, P < 0.05). ROC analysis shows that TNF-α level is helpful in discriminating viability outcome after semen storage (AUC = 0.94, P < 0.001). We can predict with 92.35% certainty that fresh semen samples with more than 150 pg/ml of TNF-α in the seminal plasma will retain more than 85% of viable spermatozoa after 3 days of storage. Thus, TNF-α can contribute to predicting the quality of short-term stored semen.