Protection of melatonin against damage of sperm mito-chondrial function induced by reactive oxygen species

Aim: To study the mitochondrial function damage of sperm in-duced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the protection of melatonin (MLT) against the damage. Methods: Normal function spermatozoa were selected from semen samples by Percoll gradi-ent centrifugation technique. The ROS generated by the hypoxan-thine xanthine oxidase system was incubated with the normal sper-matozoa in the presence or absence of MLT (6 retool/L) for 30 and 60 minutes.

Protection of melatonin against damage of sperm mitochondrial function induced by reactive oxygen species

Aim: To study the mitochondrial function damage of sperm induced by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the protection of melatonin (MLT) against the damage. Methods: Normal function spermatozoa were selected from semen samples by Percoll gradient centrifugation technique. The ROS generated by the hypoxan-thine xanthine oxidase system was incubated with the normal spermatozoa in the presence or absence of MLT (6 mmol/L) for 30 and 60 minutes. After incubation, the activity of succinate dehydroge-nase (SDH) in the mitochondria of spermatozoa was assessed by histochemical method and spermatozoa were labeled with specific fluorescent probe of Rhodamine 123 to measure the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) by flow cytometry. Results: After the normal spermatozoa were incubated with ROS, The sperm MMP was significantly decreased and the SDH activity of almost decreased to zero. MLT reduced the mitochondrial damage induced by ROS. Conclusion: ROS damage the mitochondrial function of sperm by affecting sperm MMP and SDH activity of. MLT protects sperm mitochondria from the damage induced by ROS through its effective antioxidative potential.