ArticleFrontiers in cell and developmental biology2026
Density gradient centrifugation versus swim-up for selecting spermatozoa with improved redox activity, calcium status, and DNA integrity in an established rat model of varicocele-induced infertility.
Article in Frontiers in cell and developmental biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Varicocele (VCL) is a frequent pathological condition associated with impaired sperm quality, oxidative stress, altered calcium homeostasis, and sperm DNA fragmentation. The present study was not designed to validate the VCL model itself; rather, it used an established rat VCL model as a pathological source of spermatozoa to compare the efficiency of density gradient centrifugation (DGC) and swim-up (SWU) in enriching sperm populations with improved functional, redox, calcium-related, and genomic characteristics. Methods: Adult male Wistar rats were allocated to control and experimentally induced VCL groups (n = 6 animals Results: Stock spermatozoa from VCL-induced rats showed reduced sperm count, motility, viability, TAC, glutathione-related redox capacity, and antioxidant enzyme activities, together with increased calcium concentration, TOS, MDA, protein carbonyl content, and DNA damage compared with control-stock samples. Under VCL conditions, both SWU and DGC enriched spermatozoa with improved motility and reduced DNA damage compared with VCL-stock samples. However, DGC showed greater efficiency than SWU in selecting spermatozoa with higher viability, stronger antioxidant enzyme activities, improved TAC, lower TOS, reduced lipid and protein oxidation, and lower DNA damage. The superiority of DGC over SWU was most evident in VCL-derived samples, whereas differences between the two methods were limited or absent in control-derived samples. Conclusion: In an established VCL-induced infertility model, DGC was more effective than SWU in enriching spermatozoa with improved redox activity, reduced oxidative damage, lower DNA fragmentation, and more favorable calcium status. These findings support the use of DGC as a preferable sperm preparation strategy when spermatozoa originate from a pathological oxidative-stress background such as VCL.
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