The HSP90AA1 sperm content and the prediction of the boar ejaculate freezability

In a previous study we reported that the immunolabelling of GLUT3, HSP90AA1, and Cu/ZnSOD proteins on boar sperm did not show differences between good and poor freezability ejaculates, in terms of a qualitative analysis based on location and reactivity of these proteins at 17 degrees C and at 240 min post-thaw. Since predicting the ejaculate freezability is considerably important in sperm cryopreservation procedures, the objective of the present study was to quantify the expression of these three proteins in good and poor freezability ejaculates. For this purpose, 10 ejaculates from 9 Piétrain boars were cryopreserved and their sperm quality assessed in the three main steps of the freezing process (17 degrees C, 5 degrees C, and 240 min post-thaw). After this assessment, the 10 ejaculates were clustered for freezability on the basis of their sperm progressive motility and membrane integrity at 240 min post-thaw. From the whole ejaculates, only four good and four poor freezability ejaculates displaying the most divergent values were selected for a western blot assay using sperm samples coming from the three mentioned freezing steps. Protein levels through densitometry were significantly different between good and poor freezability ejaculates for Cu/ZnSOD at 240 min post-thaw (P