Modern Trends of the Application of Stem Cells and Their Derivatives during Cryopreservation of Animal Sperm

Abstract

Cryopreservation is an important method for preserving sperm from various organisms. However, freezing gametes often leads to various types of cell damage, which affects the outcome of artificial insemination. After thawing, spermatozoa usually have ultrastructural, biochemical and functional changes such as cell membrane and chromatin damage and oxidative stress. Since spermatozoa have limited biosynthetic capacity, they have a low capacity to regenerate. The current trend is to improve the sperm cryopreservation regime using natural extracellular vesicles and stem cells. Extracellular vesicles and stem cells have a potential regenerative effect, as they contain various biologically active molecules affecting sperm repair. This review focuses on current strategies to improve sperm health after cryopreservation. In particular, this review describes the results of studies on the use of extracellular vesicles and stem cells as cryoprotectors during freezing and thawing of spermatozoa.