Hypo-osmotic test in cat spermatozoa

The hypo-osmotic (HOS) test has been used in other species as an indicator of the fertilising capacity of spermatozoa. The aims of this study were to assess the response of domestic cat spermatozoa to the hypo-osmotic test, to determine the type of solution, concentration and time of incubation needed to obtain a maximum percentage of swelling, to correlate the selected combination with the percentages of progressive motility and to evaluate whether dilution of the ejaculate alters the results. Incubation for 30 and 45 min in solutions of fructose and of citrate of 50 and 100 mOsmol kg⁻¹ was evaluated. The highest percentage of swelling was obtained using the 50 mOsmol kg⁻¹ solution, and no significant differences were observed between the times of exposure to the solutions. A positive correlation was observed between the percentage of individual progressive motility and the percentage of sperm swelling in a 50 mOsmol kg⁻¹ fructose solution, with no significant differences being observed between raw and diluted semen samples. The results of this study suggest that the HOS test could be useful for evaluating membrane function in domestic cat spermatozoa, both in raw semen and in samples diluted in the EZ Mixin® commercial extender, and thus could be incorporated into routine semen evaluation protocols.