Factors Influencing Metabolic Activity of Bull Spermatozoa. VI. Metabolic CO2 and Fructose

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Abstract
Sixteen samples of semen and 17 samples of washed spermatozoa were used to study the effect of metabolically produced CO2 and added fructose on the aerobic metabolism of bovine spermatozoa. The spermatozoa, in seminal plasma or saline suspensions, were diluted with saline and saline containing fructose and incubated at 37[degree]C for 4 hr. Dixon-Keilin flasks were used which enabled the cells to respire in the presence of their own produced CO2 and the CO2 to be removed by KOH for determination of oxygen uptake at any desired time. This was routinely done at the end of 1, 2, 3, and 4 hr. Results showed that metabolic CO2 significantly stimulated the O2 consumed by sperm cells in the presence of seminal plasma, but not in its absence. Added fructose depressed O2 uptake during the 4 hr when seminal plasma was present and also during the first hour with washed cells. However, after the first hour, when the washed cells have utilized all their endogenous substrates, fructose was necessary for continued metabolism.