Relationship of seminal plasma antioxidants and serum male hormones with sperm chromatin status in male factor infertility

Abstract

We explored the relationship between sperm chromatin integrity, hormone levels, seminal plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and routine sperm parameters in men with male factor (MF, n = 81) and non-male factor (NMF, n = 52) infertility. Semen and blood were collected and examined from men undergoing evaluation for infertility in the Avicenna Infertility Clinic. We have examined each patient for serum hormones (LH, FSH, E2, DHEA), sperm chromatin damage, level of protamination and seminal plasma TAC. Levels of FSH, LH, sperm chromatin damage, and abnormal protamination were significantly higher in MF vs. NMF groups (p < 0.001). Sperm chromatin damage was correlated with percentage of CMA₃- positive sperm (r = 0.64, p < 0.001) and with sperm concentration (r = −0.36, p < 0.001), motility (r = −0.21, p < 0.05), and morphologically normal spermatozoa (r = −0.29, p < 0.001). Linear regression showed sperm chromatin damage was related to percentage of CMA₃- positive sperm (p < 0.001) in ungrouped patients. It was related to both percentage of CMA₃- positive sperm and serum DHEA in the MF group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). Sperm chromatin maturity assessed by CMA₃ test was inversely related to sperm chromatin damage assessed by the toludine blue assay. Male factor infertility associated with sperm chromatin damage may be related to sperm protamination and to serum DHEA.

Keywords:

• chromomycin A₃, DHEA
• male infertility
• seminal plasma TAC
• sperm DNA damage
• toluidine blue

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ms Elham Savadi Shirazi and Ms Lima Asgharpour for their contribution in collecting samples from Avicenna Infertility Clinic (Tehran, Iran).

Declaration of interest: This study was supported by grant No. 840106-22 from the Avicenna Research Institute (ARI, Tehran, Iran). There are no conflicts of interest.

Author Contributions: NL performed the laboratory tests, wrote the manuscript and was involved in the design of the study and interpreting the data. RZM and AA interpreted the results and revised the manuscript. MMA, NAJ and HKH helped to select patients and to design the study. HZ was involved in the statistical analysis and interpreting the results. MRS was involved in the design of the study and reviewed the paper and also supervised the whole study.