Abstract

Shipment of laboratory rats between animal facilities is frequently performed using special containers. However, the shipment of live animals is associated with potential risks of infectious diseases, escape and death during shipment and animal welfare issues. The transport of cold-stored sperm avoids such risks; however, there have been no reports on cold storage of rat sperm. We previously reported that dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and quercetin maintained the motility and fertilising abilities of cold-stored mouse sperm stored for 10 days. The present study investigated the efficacy of DMSO and quercetin in the cold storage of rat sperm. Quercetin maintained motility and fertility of cold-stored rat sperm stored for 5 days. After in vitro fertilisation using cold-stored sperm, pronuclear and two-cell embryos developed normally to pups following embryo transfer. Therefore, we demonstrated that live pups could be obtained from sperm transported using the cold-storage system. We conclude that cold storage of rat sperm may provide an efficient system for transporting rat resources as an alternative to shipping live animals.

Details

Title
Quercetin-treated rat sperm enables refrigerated transport with motility and fertility for five days
Author
Yamaga Katsuma 1 ; Nakao Satohiro 1 ; Mikoda Nobuyuki 2 ; Yoshimoto Hidetaka 1 ; Nakatsukasa Ena 3 ; Nakagata Naomi 2 ; Takeo Toru 1 

 Kumamoto University, Division of Reproductive Engineering, Center for Animal Resources and Development (CARD), Institute of Resource Development and Analysis, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Japan (GRID:grid.274841.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0660 6749) 
 Kumamoto University, Division of Reproductive Biotechnology and Innovation, Center for Animal Resources and Development (CARD), Institute of Resource Development and Analysis, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto, Japan (GRID:grid.274841.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0660 6749) 
 Niigata University, Department of Animal Model Development, Brain Research Institute, Chuo-ku, Niigata, Japan (GRID:grid.260975.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 0671 5144) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2600515762
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.