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The influence of benign prostatic hyperplasia on sperm morphological features and sperm DNA integrity in dogs
Author(s) -
Flores RB,
Angrimani DSR,
Rui BR,
Brito MM,
Abreu RA,
Vannucchi CI
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.12817
Subject(s) - sperm , dna fragmentation , andrology , hyperplasia , semen , prostate , medicine , biology , apoptosis , cancer , genetics , programmed cell death
Contents Benign prostatic hyperplasia ( BPH ) has a high incidence in older intact dogs. Due to the increased prostatic oxidative stress and hormonal imbalance of BPH , sperm damage can arise, such as sperm morphological alterations and DNA fragmentation. This study aimed to compare the reproductive potential of healthy dogs and those affected by benign prostatic hyperplasia. Ten dogs were assigned to two experimental groups: dogs without BPH (control; n = 5) and dogs diagnosed with BPH ( n = 5), based on clinical signs and ultrasonographic findings. Three semen collections were performed from each dog within one month and analysed using computer‐assisted sperm analysis ( CASA ) and functional tests. Control group showed higher percentage of sperm DNA integrity (95 ± 1.8%) compared to the BPH group (79.2 ± 6.4%). On the other hand, the percentage of minor sperm defects, amplitude of lateral sperm head displacement of the spermatozoa and medium sperm mitochondrial activity were higher in the BPH group. In conclusion, BPH decreases sperm DNA integrity, increases mitochondrial activity, as well as modifies sperm movement pattern. Therefore, a careful sperm analysis of aged dogs with BPH is required before a reproductive programme can be established for such patients.