TY - JOUR
T1 - Synchrotron radiation soft X-ray microscopy and low energy X-ray fluorescence to reveal elemental changes in spermatozoa treated with photobiomodulation therapy
AU - Zupin, Luisa
AU - Pascolo, Lorella
AU - Gianoncelli, Alessandra
AU - Gariani, Gianluca
AU - Luppi, Stefania
AU - Giolo, Elena
AU - Ottaviani, Giulia
AU - Crovella, Sergio
AU - Ricci, Giuseppe
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo (5mille15D1). We acknowledge Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste (Trieste, Italy) for providing access to its synchrotron radiation facility and the TwinMic beamline.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Royal Society of Chemistry.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/8/7
Y1 - 2020/8/7
N2 - Male infertility is a worldwide clinical issue that increases the number of couples resorting to assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to achieve pregnancy. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is a promising technique that can biostimulate cells and tissues and it is currently successfully employed to enhance the sperm motility in vitro. Nevertheless, its use has been so far restricted to the research field. In the present work, we exploited two PBMT protocols at an 800 nm wavelength on sperm derived from infertile individuals, detecting an increase in sperm motility 1 hour after irradiation. Moreover, in order to add new information about the molecular effect of PBMT, the content of some light elements was evaluated using high resolution X-ray fluorescence imaging. Interestingly, an increase in Na content was detected in the irradiated samples, possibly suggesting a role of this element in sperm motility; indeed, a low Na content was previously correlated with a poor sperm quality, low semen volume, and modest fertilization rate. Amplifying the knowledge of PBMT in the ART field will expedite the translational potentiality of the PBMT use in clinical settings.
AB - Male infertility is a worldwide clinical issue that increases the number of couples resorting to assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to achieve pregnancy. Photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) is a promising technique that can biostimulate cells and tissues and it is currently successfully employed to enhance the sperm motility in vitro. Nevertheless, its use has been so far restricted to the research field. In the present work, we exploited two PBMT protocols at an 800 nm wavelength on sperm derived from infertile individuals, detecting an increase in sperm motility 1 hour after irradiation. Moreover, in order to add new information about the molecular effect of PBMT, the content of some light elements was evaluated using high resolution X-ray fluorescence imaging. Interestingly, an increase in Na content was detected in the irradiated samples, possibly suggesting a role of this element in sperm motility; indeed, a low Na content was previously correlated with a poor sperm quality, low semen volume, and modest fertilization rate. Amplifying the knowledge of PBMT in the ART field will expedite the translational potentiality of the PBMT use in clinical settings.
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U2 - 10.1039/d0ay00960a
DO - 10.1039/d0ay00960a
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85089554725
VL - 12
SP - 3691
EP - 3696
JO - Analytical Methods
JF - Analytical Methods
SN - 1759-9660
IS - 29
ER -