Boar semen freezing procedures include the use of centrifugation to concentrate sperm and remove seminal plasma prior to dilution in freezing extender. The centrifugation techniques employed have necessarily been a compromise between the need to recover as many spermatozoa as possible after centrifugation and the damage caused by pelleting the sperm. The use of an inert, dense, and isotonic solution as a cushion in the bottom of the tube leads to the use of higher-speed centrifugation to ensure maximum sperm recovery. However, it is necessary to know the viability and functionality of the samples after the thawing process. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of cushion-technique centrifugation on the in vitro sperm viability and the penetrating capacity after thawing. Sperm-rich fractions from five fertile boars were diluted and cooled to 15°C before centrifugation. Two centrifugation regimes were used: 800g for 10 min called the “standard method” (SM) (Westendorf P et al. 1975 Dtsch. Tierzartl Wochenschr. 82, 261–267) and 1000g for 20 min on an iodixanol isotonic solution 60% w/v gradient (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO, USA) called the “cushion method” (CM). Spermatozoa were diluted in lactose/egg-yolk extender, cooled to 5°C over 2 h and then frozen with glycerol and Equex by classic methodology (Westendorf P et al. 1975 Dtsch. Tierzartl Wochenschr. 82, 261–267). Frozen sperm samples were thawed in a circulating water bath at 38°C for 30 s. To detect increases in plasma membrane lipid packing disorder and viability, frozen-thawed samples of sperm were stained with merocyanine 540 (M540) and Yo-Pro 1 (Harrison et al. 1996 Mol. Rep. Dev. 45, 378–391) and evaluated by flow cytometry. In vitro penetration ability was assessed using the homologous in vitro penetration (hIVP) test with immature oocytes (Gadea and Matas 2000 Theriogenology 54, 1343–1357). ANOVA analysis revealed that centrifugation by CM showed higher values of intact viable spermatozoa than SM centrifugation (60.21 v. 54.68%, P < 0.05). The in vitro penetration assay showed no differences in penetration rate or mean number of sperm penetrated per oocyte. However, significant boar and interaction effects were found (P < 0.01). These results indicated that different effects of the treatment were found for every boar. In conclusion, the cushioned centrifugation method gives a simple means of processing porcine semen for freezing more efficiently without loss of fertilizing capacity.

This work was supported by AGL-2003-03144.