Effects of kisspeptin incubation on the mature mouse testicular sperms quality: An experimental study

Sperm quality has an important role in the success of assisted reproductive techniques, by adding some bioactive agents with a positive impact on sperms, it can be improved.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of kisspeptin on the sperm motility criteria, Lactate dehydrogenase-C (LDHC) activity, acrosomal reaction, and capacitation in the mouse testicular sperm in vitro.

Sperm samples were extracted from testes of 96 male Balb/C mice weighing 25-30 gr, aged 6-8 wk. Then, they were separated into 4 parts; 2 controls and 2 kisspeptin-treated aliquots; each one incubated for either 15 or 30 min. The sperm motility and the LDHC activity were evaluated, and also the frequency of the non-capacitated, intact, and acrosomal-reacted sperms were evaluated by staining with Wheat germ agglutinin, Peanut agglutinin, and Concanavalin A, respectively. The stained sperms were analyzed by flow cytometry and fluorescent microscope.

Our result showed that kisspeptin increased both the sperm motility (p = 0.04) and LDHC enzyme activity (p = 0.04) after 15 min of incubation. At the same time, it did not impact the frequency of the non-capacitated, intact and acrosomal-reacted sperms after incubation in the same period (p = 0.16).

A 15 min period of incubation with kisspeptin could be applicable for evaluating sperm motility and LDH activity.