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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 71/3/1002    most recent biolreprod.104.028373v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zubkova, E. V. Articles by Robaire, B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zubkova, E. V. Articles by Robaire, B. Agricola Articles by Zubkova, E. V. Articles by Robaire, B.

Effect of Glutathione Depletion on Antioxidant Enzymes in the Epididymis, Seminal Vesicles, and Liver and on Spermatozoa Motility in the Aging Brown Norway Rat¹

Departments of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1Y6

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play a role in male infertility, where excessive amounts impair spermatozoal motility. Epididymal antioxidant enzymes protect spermatozoa from oxidative damage in the epididymal lumen. Antioxidant secretions from the seminal vesicle protect spermatozoa after ejaculation. As it is known that with age there is increased generation of ROS, the goals of this study were to determine how aging affects the response of antioxidant enzymes in the epididymis, seminal vesicles, and liver to L-buthionine-S,R-sulfoximine (BSO) mediated glutathione (GSH) depletion, and to examine the impact of GSH depletion on motility parameters of spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis in young (4-mo-old) and old (21-mo-old) rats. Levels of GSH and glutathione disulfide (GSSG), as well as activities of glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase, and superoxide dismutase, were measured in the caput, corpus and cauda epididymidis, seminal vesicles, and liver. Spermatozoal motility was assessed by computer-assisted sperm analysis. Significant age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme activities were found in the liver and cauda epididymidis. Glutathione depletion clearly affected tissues in both young and old. The compounding effect of age was most evident in the cauda epididymidis, seminal vesicles, and liver, where antioxidant enzyme activities changed significantly. Additionally, spermatozoa motility was adversely affected after BSO treatment in both age groups, but significantly more so in older animals. In summary, the male reproductive tissues and liver undergo age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme activities and in their response to GSH depletion.

¹ Supported by National Institute of Aging grant 08321 and Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

² Correspondence: Bernard Robaire, Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, 3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler, Montréal, PQ, Canada H3G 1Y6. FAX: 514 398 7120; bernard.robaire{at}mcgill.ca