Journal of Clinical Medicine
Protective Effects of Serotonin, L-Carnitine, and Coenzyme Q10 on Human Sperm Cryopreservation: Functional and In Silico Evidence
By Yasemin Yılmazer, Aleyna Çavdar, Z. A. Sinirlioglu and 2 others.
Abstract
Background
Sperm cryopreservation can impair sperm function through oxidative stress, membrane damage, mitochondrial dysfunction, and DNA fragmentation. This study evaluated the effects of supplementing a basal freezing medium with serotonin (5-HT), L-carnitine (L-C), and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) on post-thaw human sperm quality and explored potential molecular interactions using molecular docking.
Methods
Semen samples from 63 normozoospermic volunteers were processed using the swim-up technique, and each sample was divided into five aliquots assigned to the following conditions: commercial freezing medium; basal freezing medium; basal medium supplemented with 5-HT alone; basal medium supplemented with L-C and CoQ10; and basal medium supplemented with all three compounds. Post-thaw motility, intracellular ROS, viability, and apoptosis-associated changes were assessed in all 63 donors; DNA fragmentation was assessed in a subset of 32 donors. Molecular docking explored predicted interactions of 5-HT, L-C, and coenzyme Q1 (CoQ1), a short-chain CoQ10 analogue, with selected sperm-related targets.