Study the effect of oxamate on rat sperm motility in vivo

LDH- C4 is an isoenzyme of lactate dehydrogenase that is found in mature testes and spermatozoa of species with internal fertilization. Its physiological function appears related to metabolic processes that provide energy for motility and survival of spermatozoa. Oxamate is a new selective competitive inhibitor of sperm LDH- C4 with pyruvate as substrate. In the present experimental study on male rat, the effectiveness of oxamate was evaluated as a novel approach to the development of a male contraceptive. In this study, 20 adult rats were divided into 4 groups, the first used as control and the remaining three used as experimental groups. Experimental groups received different concentration, of oxamate (150, 300, 600 mg/kg/,ip) for 45 days. Control animals received normal saline solution. The sperms from the cauda division of epididymidis were collected by placing minced cauda in culture medium (T6) for one hour at 37˚ C in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. Sperm motility was evaluated utilizing Makler chamber and compared with the control group. Statistical analysis was performed by the student t- test and one – way ANOVA. Progressive sperm motility in control and treated there groups were %60.3 ± 2.8), %50 ± 2.4), %41.5 ± 1.9), %19 ± 2.2) respectively. We conclude that oxamate in vivo can reduce sperm motility significantly and this reduction was concentration-dependent. The results of this work show that sperm motility can be reduced by concentration- dependent effect of oxamate under in vivo conditions.