Lactate and adenosine triphosphate in the extender enhance the cryosurvival of rat epididymal sperm

We evaluated the cryosurvival of rat epididymal sperm preserved in raffinose-modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate-egg yolk extender supplemented with various energy-yielding substrates (glucose, pyruvate, lactate, and ATP) and assessed the effect on sperm oxygen consumption. The incubation of sperm at 37°C for 10 min in lactate-free extender decreased sperm motility and oxygen consumption before and after thawing compared with those of sperm in glucose- and pyruvate-free mediums. We then focused on the effect of supplementing the extender with lactate (0, 10.79, 21.58, 32.37, and 43.16 mM) and found that sperm frozen and thawed in extender supplemented with 32.37 mM lactate exhibited the highest motility. When we supplemented extender containing 32.37 mM lactate with ATP (0, 0.92, 1.85, 3.70, and 5.55 mM), sperm frozen and thawed in the extender supplemented with 1.85 mM ATP exhibited considerably higher motility and viability than those of sperm frozen and thawed in ATP-free extender. These results provide the first evidence that supplementation of the raffinose-modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate-egg yolk extender with 32.37 mM lactate and 1.85 mM ATP increases of number of motile sperm before freezing and enhances the cryosurvival of rat sperm. These supplements to the extender may enhance sperm cryosurvival by improving the metabolic capacity of sperm before freezing.