In vitro effect of myo-inositol on sperm motility in normal and oligoasthenospermia patients undergoing in vitro fertilization

Abstract

It is a known fact that abnormal seminal liquid specimens contain abnormal amounts of oxygen free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and that the use of antioxidant molecules both in vivo and in vitro leads to improvement of semen quality in terms of motility, reduction in DNA damage, with obvious consequences on the fertilization potential. Myo-inositol has been observed to have anti-oxidant properties and be present in much greater concentrations specifically in seminal liquid than in the blood. Moreover, there seems to be a direct relationship between myo-inositol and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and sperm motility. Studies performed in vivo have demonstrated that a dietary supplementation with myo-inositol in men undergoing assisted reproduction techniques may improve sperm quality and motility in oligoasthenospermia (OAT) patients. In the following study we utilized myo-inositol in vitro to verify its effect on semen quality in both normal and OAT patients undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) with respect to standard sperm medium. In vitro incubation of seminal liquid carried out using myo-inositol (Andrositol-Lab, Lo.Li. Pharma-Roma, Italy) at a concentration of 15 μl/ml improved progressive motility in both normospermia and OAT subjects. In our opinion, myo-inositol may prove to be a useful strategy to improve sperm preparation for clinical use in IVF.

Chinese abstract

众所周知, 精液标本异常包括氧自由基和活性氧 (ROS) 的数量异常, 抗氧化分子在体内和体外的使用使得精子活力改善, 减少DNA损伤, 对受精潜能具有明显的影响。肌醇已被观察到具有抗氧化性能, 其精液中的浓度比血液中的浓度更大。而且, 似乎有肌醇和线粒体膜电位 (MMP) 以及精子活力直径似乎有着直接联系。体内研究表明, 膳食中补充肌醇可能提高接受辅助生殖技术的男性精子质量和少弱精症 (OAT) 患者的精子活力。在后续研究中我们使用肌醇体外验证相比于标准精子培养基, 它对接受体外受精 (IVF) 的正常和少弱精症 (OAT) 患者精液质量的影响。精液体外培养使用浓度为15ml/ml的肌醇 (Andrositol-Lab, Lo.Li. PharmaRoma, Italy) 逐渐提高精子正常者和少弱精症患者的精子活力。我们认为, 临床中肌醇可能对提高体外精子制备有促进作用。

Keywords:

• IVF
• myo-inositol
• semen quality
• semen preparation

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.