Do sperm cells age? A review of the physiological changes in sperm during storage at ambient temperature

Abstract

In a liquid environment, at high dilutions, fertility of bull sperm is maintained for 3–5 days when stored at ambient temperatures (10–21°C), after which time it steadily declines at a rate of 3–6% per day. This decline in fertility occurs irrespective of whether the sperm are stored at 5°C or at 15°C, but the rate is greater once storage temperatures exceed 25°C. Sperm motility can be maintained for extended periods in an environment where the extracellular oxidative stress is minimized by reducing the oxygen tension, by addition of antioxidants and chelating agents; however, this will not prevent a significant drop in fertility after five days of storage at ambient temperature. The requirement of energy by the sperm-motility apparatus demands a high level of respiratory activity. This system is very active and the free radicals produced in vivo during this process could lead to chromatin damage. As no internal repair mechanism exists in sperm, an extraneous supply of protectants, or an environment where damage is minimized, is essential to maintain its fertilizing potential. The lack of extended storage potential of sperm, even in the presence of antioxidants, seems to suggest that although oocyte-penetrating ability of the sperm could still be intact, the high rate of intracellular metabolic activity could lead to mitochondrial DNA damage and chromosomal abnormalities that would compromise the viability of the resulting conceptus.