[Sperm DNA oxidative damage in patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia]

To discuss seminal plasma oxidative stress and sperm DNA oxidative damage in patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia.

Infertile couples were selected from the clinic outpatients of the Reproductive Center of Xiangya Hospital, Central-South University from December 2010 to March 2011. Fresh semen of 28 men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia was collected as an experiment group, and 24 fertile men with normal semen and normal reproductive history served as a control group. Level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the seminal plasma was assessed with luminer chemiluminescence method. Density of sperm DNA oxidation product 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was assessed with enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.

1) ROS level in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). There was negative correlation between the percentage of progressive motility spermatozoa and the ROS level in the seminal plasma in the 2 groups (r=-0.72, P<0.01). 2) Density of sperm 8-OHdG in the experiment group was higher than that in the control group (P<0.01). There was negative correlation between the percentage of progressive motility spermatozoa and the density of sperm 8-OHdG (r=-0.73, P<0.01). 3) There was positive correlation between the ROS level in the seminal plasma and the density of sperm 8-OHdG (r=0.77, P<0.01).

There is sperm DNA oxidative damage in patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia, which may be related with the oxidative stress. Excessive generation of reactive oxygen species may be a cause of low sperm motility in patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia.