This study demonstrated that freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa possess strong resistance to ^137Cs γ-ray irradiation at doses of up to 8 Gy. Freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa were rehydrated and injected into mouse oocytes with an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique. Most oocytes can be activated after ICSI by using spermatozoa irradiated with γ-rays before and after freeze-drying. Sperm chromosome complements were analyzed at the first cleavage metaphase. Chromosome aberrations increased in a dose-dependent manner in the spermatozoa irradiated before freeze-drying. However, no increase in oocytes with chromosome aberrations was observed when fertilized by spermatozoa that had been irradiated after freeze-drying, as compared with freeze-dried spermatozoa that had not been irradiated. These results suggest that both the chromosomal integrity of freeze-dried spermatozoa, as well as their ability to activate oocytes, were protected from γ-ray irradiation at doses at which chromosomal damage is found to be strongly induced in spermatozoa suspended in solution.
