Effect of trehalose on DNA integrity of freeze-dried boar sperm, fertilization, and embryo development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Freeze-drying (FD) medium containing ethylene glycol-bis(2-aminoethylether)-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) is reported to be beneficial for maintenance of sperm DNA integrity after FD. Recently, trehalose has also been reported to have notable ability to stabilize the protein structure and biomembranes of sperm in a dry state. In this study, we examined the effect of a combination of EGTA and different concentrations of trehalose in FD medium on sperm DNA integrity and the in vitro development of IVM porcine oocytes after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) using freeze-dried boar sperm. Ejaculated sperm from a boar were suspended in basic FD medium supplemented with 0, 3.75, 7.5, 15, 30, 60, or 90 mM trehalose and freeze-dried. After rehydration, the sperm in all groups were subjected to DNA damage detection using a Halomax kit. It was found that the level of DNA damage in 15-mM group was significantly lower than that in 0-mM group, and no difference was observed between the 15-, 7.5-, and 3.75-mM groups. Moreover, there were no significant differences in the DNA damage level among 0, 3.75 mM, and other groups treated with trehalose. When freeze-dried sperm were used for ICSI, the fertilization rates and blastocyst formation rates (observed at 10 hours and 6 days of IVC after ICSI, respectively) in the 7.5- and 15-mM groups were not different from those in 0-mM group. These results suggest that FD medium supplemented with trehalose at appropriate concentrations improves sperm DNA integrity, but does not improve fertilization and preimplantation embryo development of IVM oocytes following ICSI.