In Vitro Effects of Culture Medium and Serum on Germ Cells in Testis and Epididymis of Male Wistar Rats
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The present study was designed to examine the influence of culture media and serum on survival of in vitro rat sperms. The effects of different culture media with or without 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) on spermatids and spermiums of Wistar rats were assessed in vitro between 2004 and 2005. Spermatozoa were cultured in Gamete-20, RPMI-1640, alphaMEM (AMEM), Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and Eagle's MEM (MEM). The number and morphology of cells was recorded at 4 and 24 h. Under all conditions the number and the viability of the cells decreased with time but parameters were positively affected by the presence of FBS. Viability rates of spermatids and spermatozoa reduced at 24 h of culturing. The survival and morphology were the best in RPMI with serum and worst in MEM without serum. These results indicate that different composition of culture media and FBS are important for maturation and survival of spermatozoa. Carefully selected culture media can play important roles in the generation of functional sperms as well as in the success of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.