Effect of different oxidative stress degrees generated by hydrogen peroxide on motility and DNA fragmentation of zebrafish (Danio rerio) spermatozoa

Contents An increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) or decrease in antioxidant barriers can provoke lipid peroxidation of the membranes or DNA damage of the spermatozoa. The aim of this work is to study the effect of the different degrees of oxidative stress generated by H2O2 incubation on total motility, kinetics, and DNA fragmentation of zebrafish (Danio rerio) spermatozoa. For this process, experimental groups were incubated in 50 µM (Low; L) and 200 µM (High; H) H2O2, respectively, for 20 min at 4ºC. Sperm motility parameters were obtained with a computer‐assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system. Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) was assessed using the sperm chromatin dispersion test. Both low and high H2O2 concentration groups showed lower motility than control groups. Progressive motility of spermatozoa incubated in the H group dropped rapidly in comparison with other groups. Regarding SDF, the control and L groups had significantly lower values than the H group (25.0% and 31.6% vs. 48.1% fragmented sperm for C, L, and H groups, respectively; p