Bingyan Hu, Haize Zhang, Yuqing Li, Qin Xue, Menghao Yang, Chaoyue Cao, Lei Gao, Guiyan Chu, Rui Cai, Yi Zheng, Weijun Pang
The parameters of sperm apoptosis and capacitation during liquid storage at 17°C can indicate the quality of pig sperm and the potential development of early embryos. However, the effect of kojic acid (KA) on semen preservation and its mechanism has not been fully understood. In this study, we discovered that adding KA to the diluent improved the antioxidant capacity of sperm mitochondria, maintained the normal structure of sperm mitochondria, and reduced sperm apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that KA prevented the release of Cytochrome c from mitochondria to the cytoplasm, reduced the expression of pro-apoptosis proteins cleaved Caspase-3 and cleaved Caspase-9, and increased the expression of the antiapoptosis protein Bcl-XL...
March 2024: Molecular Reproduction and Development