Protective influence of rosiglitazone against time‐dependent deterioration of boar spermatozoa preserved at 17°C

Abstract Spermatozoa are highly specialized cells, and energy metabolism plays an important role in modulating sperm viability and function. Rosiglitazone is an antidiabetic drug in the thiazolidinedione class that regulates metabolic flexibility and glucose uptake in various cell types, but its effects on boar sperm metabolism are unknown. In this study, we investigated the potential effect of rosiglitazone against time‐dependent deterioration of boar spermatozoa during liquid preservation at 17°C. Freshly ejaculated semen was diluted with Beltsville Thawing Solution (BTS) containing different concentrations of rosiglitazone, and the motility, membrane and acrosome integrity of sperm were detected. Besides, we measured glucose uptake capacity, l ‐lactate production level, mitochondrial membrane potential, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) production of sperm after boar semen had been incubated with or without rosiglitazone, iodoacetate (glycolysis inhibitor) and rotenone (electron transport chain inhibitor) for 5 days. The addition of rosiglitazone significantly enhanced sperm quality and had a strong protective effect on the sperm membrane and acrosome integrity during storage. BTS containing 50 μM rosiglitazone maintained the total motility of liquid‐preserved sperm above 60% for 7 days. Rosiglitazone improved sperm quality by regulating energy metabolism manner of preserved sperm, protected the sperm mitochondrial membrane potential, enhanced sperm ATP production and in the meanwhile reduced mROS through enhancing glycolysis but not oxidative phosphorylation. The data suggested the practical feasibility of using rosiglitazone for improving boar spermatozoa quality during semen preservation.