Theriogenology最新文献

{"title":"13-cis-retinoic acid modulates porcine ovarian granulosa cell differentiation via retinoic acid signaling-FoxA1 axis: Implications for ovarian follicular development and luteinization","authors":"Hong-Liang Zhang ,&nbsp;Hua-Biao Wang ,&nbsp;Yi-Xuan Mi ,&nbsp;Xia-Meng Wu ,&nbsp;Li Bao ,&nbsp;Ming Zhao ,&nbsp;Li Ma ,&nbsp;Shui-Lian Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117682","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117682","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>13-cis-Retinoic acid (13cRA), a vitamin A derivative clinically employed in cancer therapy, demonstrates novel regulatory effects on ovarian follicular development and luteinization through granulosa cell proliferation and differentiation in this study. Our murine model revealed that 13cRA administration significantly increased the number of primary follicle and corpus luteum by ovarian sectioning and follicle counting, indicating accelerated follicular maturation and ovulation competence. In porcine ovarian granulosa cell cultures, 13cRA treatment induced cell cycle progression (G1-S phase transition), and promoted cell proliferation while up-regulating differentiation markers luteinizing hormone receptor (LHR) and progesterone receptor (PGR). Cellular retinoic acid-binding protein CRABP2-mediated mechanisms were identified as pivotal through gain/loss-of-function experiments. Overexpression of CRABP2 amplified 13cRA-induced LHR and PGR expression, while knockdown of CRABP2 by specific siRNA resulted in the opposite effect. The retinoid acid signaling axis was further delineated through receptor-specific modulation. 13cRA promoted RARβ/RXRβ receptor heterodimer formation, with pharmacological activation (Adapalene) potentiating LHR and PGR expression and receptor knockdown diminishing their expression. RA metabolic regulation studies revealed that CRABP1 and CYP26 isoforms (CYP26A1 and CYP26B1) as functional antagonists of 13cRA activity were demonstrated through siRNA silencing or CYP26 inhibitor R115866 treatment experiments. Notably, we identified that FoxA1, as a negative regulator of granulosa cell proliferation and differentiation, mediated the effect of 13cRA on granulosa cell differentiation through siRNA transfection and FoxA1 recombinant protein treatment experiments. 13cRA-mediated FoxA1 expression suppression occurred through CRABP2-dependent nuclear shuttling and RARβ/RXRβ receptor heterodimer activating, with combinatorial modulation of CRABP1/CYP26 system components (CYP26A1 and CYP26B1) significantly altering FoxA1 regulatory dynamics. Finally, we conclude that 13cRA can inhibit FoxA1 expression through RA signaling molecules (CRABP2, RARβ/RXRβ heterodimer, CRABP1, CYP26A1 and CYP26B1) and thus promote the differentiation of porcine ovarian granulosa cells.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 117682"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145201352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) improves freezing tolerance of sheep embryos by reducing lipid content","authors":"Nan Zhang ,&nbsp;Cun Zhao ,&nbsp;Yupeng Sun ,&nbsp;Yukun Song ,&nbsp;Yaxin Guo ,&nbsp;Wui Sun ,&nbsp;Zhiying Wang ,&nbsp;Jiaxin Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117685","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117685","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Embryos produced in vitro exhibit heightened cryosensitivity due to excessive lipid accumulation. Previous studies demonstrated that cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) modulates intracellular lipid metabolism through cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) signaling in various cell types. This study investigated the effects of cGMP on (i) cryosurvival in sheep embryos, (ii) embryonic quality, and (iii)lipolysis-related parameters. Specifically, we quantified lipid droplet content, free fatty acid levels, and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL) phosphorylation status as key indicators of lipolytic activity. The results showed that cGMP pretreatment (0.5 mM) for 10 min prior to slow freezing significantly improved post-thaw embryo recovery rates and upregulated the mRNA expression of key developmental genes (POU5F1, SOX2, CDX2, and NANOG). cGMP pretreatment significantly upregulated the expression of multiple lipid catabolism genes (ACSL4, HMGCR, HMGCS1, LIPE, LPL, LIPF, and PLIN2), with LIPE (encoding HSL) exhibiting the most pronounced induction (27.10-fold increase vs. control). Following cGMP pretreatment, PKG activation triggered significant increases in the intracellular Ca²⁺ level and Calcium/Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylation. Given HSL's established sensitivity to calcium fluctuations, this cascade led to markedly enhanced HSL phosphorylation. Concurrently, blastocysts exhibited a significant reduction in lipid droplet content, while transient fatty acid accumulation was observed due to enhanced HSL activity. In summary, pretreating sheep blastocysts with cGMP prior to slow freezing notably elevates their cryotolerance. This enhancement is achieved by triggering the lipolytic activity of HSL via the PKG/CaMKII/Ca²⁺ signaling cascade. This pathway specificity underscores cGMP's potential as a targeted cryoprotectant adjuvant for assisted reproductive technologies, particularly for improving the cryosurvival of lipid-rich embryos.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 117685"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145207708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fertility of high-producing multiparous lactating dairy cows inseminated with fresh or frozen sex-sorted Y-chromosome bearing semen from Angus bulls","authors":"P.D. Carvalho ,&nbsp;V.G. Santos ,&nbsp;E. Maia ,&nbsp;S. Westberry ,&nbsp;C. Gonzalez-Marin ,&nbsp;N. Deeb ,&nbsp;J. Moreno ,&nbsp;P.J. Ross","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of artificial insemination (AI) with fresh or frozen sex-sorted semen on pregnancies per AI (P/AI) in high producing dairy cows. Multiparous cows were submitted to a Presynch-Ovsynch protocol to receive their first postpartum AI or to an Ovsynch protocol to receive their second and greater service. On the day of AI, cows were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatment groups: 1) receive AI with frozen conventional semen (CONV), 2) receive AI with frozen sex-sorted Y-chromosome bearing semen (SS-Frozen), or 3) receive AI with fresh sex-sorted Y-chromosome bearing semen (SS-Fresh). Semen from Angus bulls was used. Conventional semen was used at a concentration of 25 × 10⁶ sperm cells per straw, while both sex-sorted treatments were prepared at 4 × 10⁶ sperm cells per straw. At 32 d after AI, P/AI did not differ between cows receiving AI with CONV and SS-Fresh but was less for cows receiving AI with SS-Frozen (41.2 % vs 39.7 % vs 32.6 %, respectively). Calving per AI followed a similar pattern of the P/AI at 32 d. The proportion of male calves at calving was greater for cows inseminated with sex-sorted semen (91.4 % and 92.3 % for SS-Fresh and SS-Frozen, respectively) compared to cows inseminated with CONV semen (57.4 %). In conclusion, insemination with fresh sex-sorted semen resulted in P/AI comparable to conventional frozen-thawed semen, while insemination with frozen sex-sorted semen resulted in reduced fertility. As expected, the use of sex-sorted Y-chromosome-bearing semen increased the proportion of male beef-on-dairy calves born.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 117683"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145117689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pioglitazone (PIO) enhances blastocyst vitrification outcomes via coordinated AQP3-mediated dehydration and antioxidant defense","authors":"Kai-Yan Zhang ,&nbsp;Cai-Yu Wang ,&nbsp;Jing Guo ,&nbsp;Chang-Guo Min ,&nbsp;Jun Wang ,&nbsp;Jing Zhao ,&nbsp;Yi Fang ,&nbsp;Hong-Yu Liu ,&nbsp;He Ding ,&nbsp;Yang Lyu ,&nbsp;Dian Wang ,&nbsp;Xin Ma ,&nbsp;Wen-Fa Lyu","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117684","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117684","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Blastocyst cryopreservation is a challenging process due to ice crystallization induced by blastocoel fluid. While aquaporin-3 (AQP3) overexpression improves cryotolerance, there is a lack of pharmacological regulators of AQP3 that can be easily applied in clinical settings. Notably the antidiabetic drug pioglitazone (PIO), despite its association with edema in patients, has been shown to potentially induce cellular dehydration through the modulation of AQP3. Here, we have demonstrated that PIO improves vitrification outcomes by orchestrating AQP3-mediated fluid expulsion and bolstering antioxidant defense mechanisms. Treatment of mouse blastocysts with 2 μM PIO in a hyperosmotic solution resulted in a notable contraction of blastocysts (reduced by 25.95 %, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01), correlating with 2.6-fold AQP3 up-regulation, compared to the control. This rapid dehydration yielded 95 ± 3.60 % post-thaw survival (vs. 82.5 ± 3.51 % Control, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.001), while also reducing levels of Reactive oxygen species (ROS, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and Dihydroethidium (DHE) (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and increasing levels of glutathione (GSH, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.05) significantly. Mechanistically, PIO reduced DNA damage (γ-H2AX, <em>P</em> &lt; 0.01) while increasing P53 expression (<em>P</em> &lt; 0.01). Crucially, these effects were conserved in bovine Blastocysts, at the concentration of 4 μM, achieving 88.65 ± 8.31 % survival with PIO compared to 82.23 ± 7.48 % in the control group, highlighting the cross-species applicability of the findings Our findings position PIO as a dual-functional cryoadjuvant by coordinating rapid water efflux through AQP3 with antioxidant defense mechanisms. This repurposing approach, leveraging the anti-diabetic agent PIO as a cryo-adjuvant, offers an immediately implementable optimization pathway for the standardized enhancement of animal embryos vitrification protocols.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 117684"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145160062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interleukin 17A in the fibrotic-related processes in endometrosis in the mare","authors":"Agnieszka Sadowska ,&nbsp;Anna Wójtowicz ,&nbsp;Tomasz Molcan ,&nbsp;Ewa M. Drzewiecka ,&nbsp;Monika M. Kaczmarek ,&nbsp;Magda Słyszewska ,&nbsp;Graça Ferreira-Dias ,&nbsp;Anna Szóstek-Mioduchowska","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Equine endometrosis is a chronic degenerative condition with fibrosis being one of the most significant characteristics. A growing body of evidence indicates the critical role of interleukin (IL)-17 in fibrotic disorders. However, its exact role during equine endometrosis remains to be discovered and explained. The main aim of the current study was to establish the expression of IL-17A signaling components in equine endometria with and without endometrosis as well as the effects of IL-17A on the transcriptomic signature, cellular functional characteristics, expression of extracellular matrix (ECM)-associated factors and components of prostaglandin (PGs) signaling in fibroblasts derived from endometrium with and without endometrosis.</div><div>Protein abundance of IL-17 receptor subunit A was up-regulated in endometrium with endometrosis compared to the endometrium without endometrosis. RNA-sequencing results revealed that genes with IL-17A-affected expression in fibroblasts derived from endometrium without endometrosis are involved in e.g., monocyte chemotaxis and macrophage activation, while those with IL-17A-affected expression in fibroblasts derived from endometrium with endometrosis are involved in e.g., neutrophil activation and migration. Moreover, it was found that IL-17A affected the expression and activity of MMPs and TIMPs in the equine endometrial fibroblasts derived from both types of endometrium.</div><div>Interleukin 17A affects the immunomodulatory properties of equine endometrial fibroblasts and the balance between ECM deposition and degradation depending on the origin of fibroblasts - whether derived from endometrium with and without endometrosis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 117680"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145157522","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Injectable or non-injectable GnRH analogues for control of swine reproduction. A systematic review and meta-analysis","authors":"Ahm Musleh Uddin ,&nbsp;Gebremeskel Mamu Werid ,&nbsp;Thien D. Van ,&nbsp;Yunmei Song ,&nbsp;Sanjay Garg ,&nbsp;Roy N. Kirkwood ,&nbsp;Kiro R. Petrovski","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117681","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117681","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues are widely applied in swine production to synchronise ovulation and so facilitate fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI). Both injectable and non-injectable formulations are available; however, their comparative effects on reproductive performance remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis, conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, evaluated the impact of GnRH analogues on conception rate (CR), farrowing rate (FR), weaning-to-estrus interval (WEI), piglets born per litter (PBL), and piglets born alive (PBAL). Random-effect models were used to estimate pooled mean differences (MDs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic, and subgroup analyses compared injectable versus non-injectable regimens. The effect of a subgroup was analysed by administration route, insemination protocol, frequency, or AI method. Across the 27 included studies, GnRH analogue administration did not improve CR (MD = −0.00, 95 % CI: −0.05 to 0.05) or FR (MD = −0.02, 95 % CI: −0.06 to 0.01). Subgroup analyses showed no significant differences between injectable and non-injectable routes for any outcome, and heterogeneity remained low (I² = 0 %). A modest reduction in total PBL (MD = −0.33, 95 % CI –0.57 to −0.08) was evident without effect of subgroup. Although PBAL were slightly reduced (MD = −0.52, 95 % CI –0.82 to −0.22), particularly in subgroups by insemination protocol and insemination frequency there is no biological explanation for this finding. These findings suggest that while GnRH analogues are effective for synchronising ovulation, their influence on litter size is biologically modest. Importantly, non-injectable formulations demonstrated comparable outcomes to injectable approaches, supporting their potential as practical, less-invasive alternatives in commercial settings. To enable robust and parity-specific recommendations, further research should comprise adequately powered, parity-stratified randomised trials in gilts and primiparous (P1) sows. The effects of conventional and post-cervical routes on single FTAI should be assessed. Administration of standardised GnRH analogue dose and timing should be carried out to verify ovulation, control sperm numbers, and pre-specify outcomes (CR, FR, WEI, PBL, and PBAL).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 117681"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145160060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative evaluation of a commercial Tritrichomonas foetus vaccine in infected and uninfected bulls and heifers during a 45-day natural breeding season","authors":"J.H. Koziol ,&nbsp;B.T. Johnson ,&nbsp;C.L. Armstrong","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117678","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117678","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><em>Tritrichomonas foetus</em> is a venereal protozoan parasite that causes significant reproductive losses in cattle. Bulls act as asymptomatic carriers, transmitting the pathogen to susceptible cows, leading to infertility, embryonic or fetal loss, and other reproductive disorders. With no FDA-approved treatments available, vaccination has become a key control strategy. This study evaluated the reproductive effects of a commercially available killed, whole-cell vaccine (TrichGuard®) administered to both heifers and <em>T. foetus</em>-positive bulls in a natural mating system.</div><div>Heifers and bulls were randomly assigned to one of four vaccine treatment groups. Pregnancy status was monitored, and statistical models assessed pregnancy maintenance and loss. A significant treatment effect was observed on the probability of maintaining pregnancy (P = 0.03), with control (uninfected) heifers showing the highest odds of retention. Vaccinated and infected groups all showed reduced odds of maintaining pregnancy, though post hoc comparisons showed no significant differences amongst any of the vaccination protocols. Pregnancy loss did not differ significantly between groups (P = 0.22). Survival analysis revealed a treatment effect (P = 0.04), driven by the absence of pregnancy loss in the control group.</div><div>These findings suggest that vaccination with the commercially available vaccine Trichguard® may have variable efficacy in reducing reproductive losses in the face of natural infection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 117678"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145134927","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does size matter? The impact of the measuring method on testicular volume in cats","authors":"Ricarda Schaper ,&nbsp;Eva-Maria Packeiser ,&nbsp;Anna Sophia Leps ,&nbsp;Franziska Gröger ,&nbsp;Plamen Georgiev ,&nbsp;Sandra Goericke-Pesch","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117679","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117679","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The determination of the testicular volume (TV) is a central component of the andrological examination and provides important information on the reproductive function, although reference values for tomcats and a comparison of the different available measuring devices are lacking. In this study, two manual measurement methods – a digital caliper (CL) and a measuring tape (MT) – as well as water displacement (WD) were compared. For volume calculation, the ellipsoid and Lambert's formula were applied, the gonadosomatic index (GSI) calculated and correlation analysis performed. The study included two cohorts: Group 1 comprised 16 normospermic tomcats before and during hormonal suppression by a deslorelin implant, group 2 consisted of 20 tomcats of different ages at routine castration. MT measurements consistently yielded larger values then CL measurements. The use of different TV formulas effectively minimized the bias and identified CL + Lambert and MT + ellipsoid as the most comparable, while the WD method proved to be unsuitable for cats. Strong (r = 0.87, group 2) and moderate (r = 0.68, group 1) correlations (p &lt; 0.0001) were achieved between CT and MT volumes. While the TV was influenced by body weight, the GSI was size-independent and allowed a reliable differentiation between normo- and azoospermic, as well as between juvenile and adult individuals. This study recommends the combination of the CL with the Lambert formula or the MT with the ellipsoid formula as two practicable methods for TV calculation in veterinary practice. Further studies are encouraged to establish reference values and to validate the significance of the GSI in the assessment of reproductive capacity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 117679"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145109487","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Placental and other risk factors related to the survival and development of neonates from birth up to 10 days of life in bitches","authors":"Romina Gisele Praderio ,&nbsp;Mauricio Javier Giuliodori ,&nbsp;Rodolfo Luzbel de la Sota ,&nbsp;Maria Alejandra Stornelli","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117677","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117677","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although the association of several neonatal risk factors has been described previously, the relationship between placental alterations and neonatal viability, vitality scores, growth, and development in canines remains unexplored. This research aimed to study placental and other risk factors related to the survival and growth of neonates from birth up to 10 days of life in bitches. A cohort of 27 bitches, 93 neonates, and 53 placentas was included. Weight, macroscopic and microscopic lesions, and vascular density were evaluated in the placentas, while mortality, viability, APGAR, reflexes, and weight progression until day 10 of life were assessed in neonates of three groups: 1) emergency cesarean (EMC, n = 43), 2) elective cesarean (ELC, n = 11), and 3) natural parturition (NAP, n = 39). Neonatal mortality was higher in the EMC group (56.0 %) compared to the NAP group (10.2 %) and the ELC group (0 %). Macroscopic placental lesions were associated with reduced neonatal viability, and the type of parturition, specifically EMC, significantly increased neonatal mortality, the number of puppies under distress, and those with reduced reflexes. In conclusion, this study suggests that macroscopic placental lesions and parturition type are risk factors for the viability, vitality, and growth of canine neonates. As gross placental lesions are easily identifiable in clinical settings, their evaluation, combined with APGAR scoring and reflex evaluation, could help identify at-risk puppies and improve the neonatal outcomes in veterinary practice.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 117677"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145095241","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Zinc plays an essential role in mitochondrial function, motility and plasma membrane organisation of boar spermatozoa","authors":"Katerina Marcollova,&nbsp;Patrick Aldag,&nbsp;Claudia Klein,&nbsp;Heiko Henning","doi":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117675","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.theriogenology.2025.117675","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Zinc is the most abundant trace element in boar seminal plasma. The current <em>in vitro</em> study investigated to which extent mitochondrial function, motility, and plasma membrane organization depend on the presence of extra- and intracellular Zn²⁺ in boar spermatozoa. Spermatozoa were incubated in chemically-defined media in the presence of increasing concentrations of ZnCl₂ (0.01–2 mM) or TPEN, an intracellular zinc chelator (0.01–1000 μM). Extracellular Zn²⁺-levels (≥1 mM) prevented the downregulation of free intracellular Zn²⁺ levels over time (P &lt; 0.05) observed in the absence of zinc supplementation. Concomitantly, extracellular Zn²⁺ led to a dose-dependent reduction in mitochondrial transmembrane potential in viable spermatozoa (P &lt; 0.05). At the highest Zn²⁺ concentrations, sperm motility was virtually absent (P &lt; 0.05). Neither Ca²⁺ nor Mg²⁺ had a similar effect (P &gt; 0.05). Notably, extracellular Zn²⁺ induced a persistent, dose-dependent increase in cellular hydroxyl radical and peroxide levels in viable spermatozoa (P &lt; 0.05), while simultaneously decreasing cellular and mitochondrial superoxide levels. Chelation of free intracellular zinc with TPEN decreased the mitochondrial transmembrane potential in viable sperm by up to 60 % (P &lt; 0.05). Negative effects on sperm motility were apparent with high TPEN concentrations, but varied in intensity between experimental runs. TPEN consistently reduced cellular superoxide levels and, after prolonged incubation, increased cellular hydroxyl radical and peroxide levels in viable spermatozoa. Zinc showed a significant synergistic effect with caffeine to increase the percentage of viable spermatozoa with high membrane fluidity. Altogether, the results underscore the importance of zinc as an essential factor for mitochondrial function and balance of reactive oxygen species in boar spermatozoa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":23131,"journal":{"name":"Theriogenology","volume":"249 ","pages":"Article 117675"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145109486","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}