[Lipid peroxidation, morphological stress pattern and nuclear maturity of spermatozoon]

Malondialdehyde, a stable lipid peroxidation product of polyunsaturated fatty acids, was assessed in sperm and seminal plasma of 21 patients to test a potential link between this compound and, the percentage of spermatozoon exhibiting a morphological stress pattern, and the results of the nuclear maturity test. An analysis by the Spearman rank correlation shows a statistically significant positive correlation between the sperm malondialdehyde levels and the percentage of spermatozoon with morphological stress pattern (r = 0.505, p = 0.024). No correlation was found between the sperm malondialdehyde concentrations and the results of nuclear maturity test. The result of this work shows that spontaneous stress pattern seems to be linked, in part, to an excessive lipid peroxidation of the spermatozoon membrane. On the other hand, it seems that malondialdehyde have no effect on the chromatin maturity. According to the deleterious effects of lipid peroxidation on spermatozoon, the determination of both percentage of stress pattern and sperm malondialdehyde levels seems to provide useful information on the fertility status of patients.