Development of functionalized hyaluronic acid surfaces for adhesion and selection of cattle espermatozoa

LIAUDAT, ANA CECILIA; BLOIS, DAMIAN; MORILLA, GRICELDA; CAPELLA, VIRGINIA; RIVERO, REBECA E.; RIVAROLA, CLAUDIA R.; BARBERO, CÉSAR A.; RODRIGUEZ, NANCY; BOSCH, PABLO

CABA

Congreso; XX ANNUAL MEETING OF THE ARGENTINEAN BIOLOGY SOCIETY (SAB); 2018

Sociedad Argentina de Biología

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an important glycosaminoglycan present in oocyte-cumulus cell complex. It is known that sperm with good motility, plasma membrane integrity, nuclear maturity and low DNA damage preferentially bind to HA molecules. The aim of this work was to develop HA-semi-interpenetrated polymeric biomaterials and study the binding ability of bull sperm to these surfaces. Hydrogels were synthesized with HA and the interaction and percentage of sperm attached and released from the surface were investigated. Motility, viability, acrosome membrane integrity and plasma membrane functionality of released sperm were determined. The results indicate that 60% of spermatozoa exposed to HA semi-interpenetrated hydrogels bound to hydrogel surfaces and 70% of attached spermwas released after addition of hyaluronidase. Released sperm had acceptable rectilinear motility, high viability and low acrosome reaction. The plasma membrane integrity of spermatozoa in the released population was similar to that determined in the initial population. In conclusion, these results indicate that HA semi-interpenetrated hydrogels can be used to select high-quality sperm for use in assisted reproduction technique.