the effects of pentoxifylline on mouse epididymal sperm parameters, fertilization and cleavage rates after short time preservation

Background: pentoxifylline (px) prevents camp breakdown by inhibiting the activity of thecamp-phosphatase and presumably, stimulates sperm motion. incubation with px causeshyperactivation of sperm, an important step in achieving fertilization, and leads to changes inmembranes associated with sperm capacitation.objective: the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of pentoxifylline on spermviability, motility and fertilization rate after mouse sperm preservation.materials & methods: epididymal spermatozoa from adult nmri mice were collected in t6medium supplemented with 5% bsa and divided into four control and four experimental groups.the control groups included: (1) fresh sperm sample (2) preserved sperm sample at roomtemperature for 18 hours. (3) preserved sperm sample at incubator 37°c for 18 hours. (4) preservedsperm sample at 4°c for 18 hours. experimental groups were the same groups after treatment with3mmol/l px. all the samples were assessed according to world health organization criteria.oocytes from superovulated nmri female mice were inseminated in-vitro incubated sperm of allthe control and experimental groups. after insemination and washing, the fertilization rate andcleavage rate were assessed by the presence of two pronucleus (2pn) and 2-cell stage embryos. tostudy the acrosomal reaction of control and treated spermatozoa transmission electron microscopy(tem) technique was used.results: the results showed that addition of 3mmol px to preserved mouse spermatozoa at 4 ?cand 37 ?c could increase the motility rate significantly (p < 0.05) and also it could enhance abnormalmorphology rate. significant increase of fertilization rate was seen after preservation of treatedsperm at 4 ?c (p < 0.05), but there was not seen significant difference regarding cleavage ratecomparing treated and non-treated spermatozoa (p > 0.05). studies with electron microscopy showedthat addition of px to the preserved spermatozoa prevent early acrosomal reaction.conclusion: the results of this study demonstrated that addition of pentoxifylline in mouse spermsamples after short time preservation can enhance the motility and fertilization rate, although it canenhance the abnormal morphology. it also can increase the number of intact sperm afterpreservation.