TITLE:
Comparison of Rapid Freezing and Vitrification for Human Sperm Cryopreservation Using Trehalose as a Cryoprotective Agent
AUTHORS:
Huanhuan Hu, Rui Liu, Xiaowei Shi, Guojie Ji, Jing Zhang, Han Zhang, Pengbo Wang, Zhibin Sun, Guoao Xiao, Mingwen Li
KEYWORDS:
Human, Sperm, Rapid Freezing, Vitrification, Trehalose
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.9 No.10,
October
25,
2019
ABSTRACT: Rapid freezing and
vitrification are becoming popular for human sperm cryopreservation; however,
it remains unclear which method is better. The aims of the present study were
to determine the optimal trehalose concentration and to compare the
cryoprotective effects of rapid freezing and vitrification. The results showed
that: 1) The optimal trehalose concentration was 0.25 mol/L; 2) The post-thaw recovery rates of total and progressive
sperm motilities after rapid freezing (38.6% ± 3.0% and 41.1% ± 5.0%) were significantly higher (P 0.05) than that after
vitrification (26.1% ± 3.1%
and 27.2% ± 1.3%)
when 0.5 mL
straws were used; 3) However, the recovery rates of total and progressive
motilities after rapid freezing in 0.5 mL straw (26.7% ± 9.6% and 26.8% ± 8.7%) were significantly lower (P 0.05) than that after
vitrification in a novel straw-in-straw system (43.1% ± 4.2% and 41.8% ± 15.5%); and 4) The post-thaw sperm nuclear DNA
damage level after rapid freezing in 0.5 mL straw (8.7% ± 2.8%) was not significantly different from that
of sperm after vitrification in the straw-in-straw system (9.2% ± 2.5%). It was concluded
that rapid freezing is superior to vitrification when using 0.5 mL straws; however,
vitrification is superior to rapid freezing when using the straw-in-straw
systems.