Koray Tekin

Effects of Polychlorinated Biphenyls 28, 30 and 118 on Bovine Spermatozoa In Vitro

Decline of semen quality due to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is of concern globally. Among endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC), Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) are associated with reduced semen quality in various epidemiological studies. In this study, we evaluated the direct effects of selected PCBs (28, 30 and 118) on fresh spermatozoa of Simmetial bulls aged 2-4 years were evaluated in vitro by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and computer assisted semen analysis (CASA) (SCA; Microptics) analysis. IC50 values were found as 8.45, 5.45 and 9.55 ng/ml for PCB 28, 30 and 118, respectively. Total motility, progressive motility and viability decreased dependent on dose and duration of exposure (0, 2, 4 h). Total motility at IC50 doses decreased the most in PCB 28 (72.24%) followed by 30 (60.75%) and 118 (64.77%) at 2nd hour following exposure. Motility results were found to be in accordance with the vitality and morphology data where total abnormalities (especially reacted acrosome rate) were found to have increased.

The combination of CASA kinetic parameters and fluorescein staining as a fertility tool in cryopreserved bull semen

* Correspondence: enesinanc@hotmail.com

Ultrasonografical Monitoring as Diagnostic Tool for Reproductive Management in Female Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

The aim of this study was to estimate the frequency of physiological and pathological reproductive conditions in female Italian Mediterranean Buffaloes. Female animals (n=444), ranging from 3 to 14 years of age were monitored by ultrasonography (USG). A total of 7319 USG images were collected and analyzed for pregnancy status, fetal sexing, gynecological measurements and pathologies. While pregnancy rate was determined as 38.75% and ovarium-genital canal disorders as 11.71%; the most common pathologies in nonpregnant animals are defined as ovarian cystic degeneration (OCD), hydrosalpinx and salpingitis (SALP), metritis, pyometra (METR) and pneumovagina (PVAG). OCD represented 4.27% of pathological conditions during long day season (February-June) with a higher frequency above 5 years of age (P<0.05); and characterized by the presence of rounded anechoic structures with a 3.12±0.54 cm outer and 2.5±0.22 cm an internal diameter. While SALP frequency was determined as 6.75% and more intense over 7 years; METR and PVAG frequencies were 0.67% in total. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that ultrasonographic monitoring is a useful diagnostic tool to optimize the reproductive management through pregnancy and delivery time determination in addition to certain pathological conditions of the reproductive tract in buffaloes.

Effect of cholesterol loaded cyclodextrin on semen cryopreservation of Aksaray Malakli shepherd dogs of different ages

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of cholesterol-loaded cyclodextrin (CLC) on the quality parameters of semen from Aksaray Malakli Shepherd dogs of different age groups. Forty-eight male dogs were divided into 3 groupings according to their ages (young age (Y): ≤3 years, n: 20; middle age (M): 4-6 years, n: 20; old age (O): ≥7 years; n: 8). The sperm-rich portion of the ejaculate from each dog was divided into four aliquots and extended with either tris as a control (C) or tris loaded with 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg/120 × 106 CLC as low (L), intermediate (I), and high (H) doses, respectively. Following equilibration for at least half an hour, the straws were frozen in nitrogen vapor and then stored in liquid nitrogen at least for 48 h. Later, the frozen straws were thawed in a water bath for spermatological evaluation. Significant differences were observed between different age groups in terms of the spermatological parameters (p < 0.05). The evidence suggests that increasing age is associated with poor in-vitro spermatological parameters and CLC was able to protect the acrosome integrity from cryo-damage during the freeze-thawing process. Better semen freezability characteristics were obtained at young ages, considering the overall parameters.