Use of bovine spermatozoa as a rapid test for mitochondrial toxicity of T-2-toxin and deltamethrin

Introduction. The testing for mitochondrial dysfunction has become routine assay for drug and cosmetics safety evaluation. Mitochondria are targets of many pharmaceutical and therapeutic agents that can damage them and lead to changes in morphology and function. Spermatozoa have one of the highest ratios of mitochondria to body size, they lack the cytoplasm between the mitochondria and the plasma membrane, which makes them a good potential model for a rapid test on mitochondrial toxicity. The aim of our work - assessment of motility and mitochondrial membrane potential of bovine spermatozoa Bos taurus taurus in the presence of T-2-toxin and deltamethrin. Material and methods. T-2-toxin and deltamethrin were used as toxins. The main parameters studied were the level of mitochondrial potential (using the MitoTracker™ Green FM dye), sperm motility and their relationship. Results. We found a strong correlation between the motility of bovine spermatozoa and the mitochondrial potential of their mitochondria (R>0.87; p<0.05). The mitochondrial toxicity of deltamethrin has been confirmed, although to a much lesser extent than that of the T-2-toxin. In addition, certain patterns were found in the distribution of active zones of the mitochondrial potential in bull spermatozoa. Conclusion. Using deltamethrin and T-2-toxin in this study, it was shown that the sperm cells of bulls and their mitochondrial potential can be used as an express test for mitochondrial toxicity. Limitations. Determination of the mitochondrial potential of the studied spretamotozoa using the MitoTracker™ dye was rather of a qualitative nature, reflecting not so much the level of the mitochondrial potential but the number of spermatozoa that have the potential sufficient to initiate the luminescence of the dye.