A considerable proportion of male factor infertility cases are associated with inflammatory processes. The most common sexually transmissible agents causing sexually transmitted diseases in industrial countries are Chlamydia trachomatis, genital Ureaplasma and Mycoplasma spp. This study was undertaken to investigate whether these bacterial contaminants in semen affect sperm quality parameters and particularly DNA integrity (detected by sperm chromatin structure assay) in males from infertile couples (n = 293). The results showed that semen contaminations with the investigated bacterial species were not associated with sperm DNA fragmentation. However, contaminations with Mycoplasma spp. and C. trachomatis were associated with decreased sperm concentrations. Total sperm numbers in contaminated semen samples tended to be decreased, but not significantly. Mycoplasma had the highest adverse effect on sperm quality (concentration, motility, morphology and DNA condensation). Antibiotic therapy of the selected 47 men was successful in 55%, but semen quality parameters did not improve at least up to 3 months after the therapy. The presence of pathogenic bacteria in semen is primarily associated with low sperm production. Our data showed that Mycoplasma spp. contamination of semen had the highest adverse effect on sperm quality. Sperm chromatin integrity assessed by the presence of DNA breaks was not disturbed.
- MeSH
- Chlamydia trachomatis izolace a purifikace MeSH
- chromatin metabolismus MeSH
- fragmentace DNA MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužská infertilita metabolismus mikrobiologie MeSH
- Mycoplasma izolace a purifikace MeSH
- sperma mikrobiologie MeSH
- spermie metabolismus MeSH
- Ureaplasma izolace a purifikace MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds on sperm quality in a group of city policemen in Prague during a period of increased concentrations of ambient air-pollutants (winter season) compared to a period of low exposure (spring). Polymorphisms in metabolic genes (CYP1A1, EPHX1, GSTM1, GSTP1, GSTT1), folic acid metabolism genes (MTR, MTHFR) and DNA repair genes (XRCC1, XPD6, XPD23, hOGG1) were evaluated in these men as potential modifiers of associations between air pollution exposure and changes in sperm quality. The study population was a group of 47 policemen working in the center of the city. Seasonal differences in exposure were verified by ambient and personal monitoring. Markers of sperm injury included semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm morphology, sperm motility, and sperm DNA damage measured with the sperm chromatin structure assay The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) includes a measure of DNA damage called DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI). The % of cells with detectable DFI (detDFI) by this assay includes sperm with either medium or high DNA damage; the term hDFI is used to define the % of sperm with only high DNA damage. The assay also detects immature sperm defined by high density staining (HDS). No significant differences were found in any of the standard semen parameters between the sampling periods except for vitality of sperms. Both DFI and HDS were significantly higher in winter than in spring samples for all men and for non-smokers. At the bivariate level, significant associations between hDFI or detDFI and polymorphisms of the repair genes XRCC1, XPD6 and XPD23 were observed. In multivariate models, polymorphisms of the genes XPD6, XPD23 and CYP1A1MspI were associated with hDFI and HDS. Moreover, HDS was significantly associated with polymorphisms in GSTM1 gene.
- MeSH
- chromatin genetika MeSH
- cytochrom P-450 CYP1A1 genetika metabolismus MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- enzymy opravy DNA genetika metabolismus MeSH
- fragmentace DNA účinky léků MeSH
- genotyp MeSH
- glutathiontransferasa genetika metabolismus MeSH
- kotinin moč MeSH
- kouření MeSH
- kyselina listová metabolismus MeSH
- látky znečišťující vzduch v pracovním prostředí škodlivé účinky MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- policie MeSH
- polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
- polymorfismus délky restrikčních fragmentů MeSH
- polymorfismus genetický MeSH
- poškození DNA genetika MeSH
- spermie účinky léků MeSH
- xeroderma pigmentosum - protein skupiny D genetika metabolismus MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Damage to the genetic component of spermatozoa seems to play the main role in a majority of cases where current approaches fail to reveal the specific cause of male infertility. In this study, we compared semen quality in men assigned to two defined groups: men from couples with unexplained infertility - idiopathic infertility (A) and young men with no experiences of infertility (B). All samples were examined by standard ejaculate analysis and sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Sperm chromatin damage was significantly higher in men from group A than in those from group B. Similar results were obtained by comparison of men from group A (all men were normozoospermic) with normozoospermic men from group B. According to these results, we can suppose that chromatin disorders may be the causal factor of subfertility or infertility in some of these men. No evidence for a strong association between chromatin disorders and standard parameters of ejaculates was found. We failed to confirm a relationship between smoking and sperm quality in men from any of the investigated groups. SCSA is a method that facilitates the identification of infertile men who otherwise show normal semen variables.
Bylo vyšetřeno 5 095 mužských ejakulátů v průběhu 36 let (1970 až 2006). Spermatoanalytická vyšetření doložila v průměrech jednotlivých kritérií hodnoty, které v převaze odpovídaly konvenčním normálům mimo kritérium motility spermií. Při komparaci s normativními ukazateli WHO nedosáhlo potřebný objem 22,0 % ejakulátů, koncentrace spermií na ml nebyla získána v dostatečné hodnotě u 21,2 %, motilita spermií nevykázala potřebný podíl ve 46,6 % a podíl morfologicky nezměněných spermií byl v posledních 3 letech pouhých 21,4 %. Dříve klasický požadavek 60 % morfologicky intaktních spermií nesplnilo 68,9 % ejakulátů. Požadovaných 25 % normálně utvářených spermií splnilo 86,3 %. Vyhodnocením testu přežití spermií v ejakulátu odpovídalo pouze 54,9 % požadované funkční rezistenci. Z výsledků je zřejmá kvalitativní degradace ejakulátů mužů doložená především snižujícím se podílem morfologicky nezměněných spermií a koncentrací spermií. Významným dokladem o negativních vlivech kouření na funkci germinativního epitelu je snížení koncentrace spermií v ejakulátech kouřících probandů o dramatických 53,7 % oproti nekuřákům. Srovnáním výsledných analýz základního souboru s porovnávací skupinou byla zjištěna všeobecně nižší kvalitativní úroveň ejakulátů, skupina brněnských vysokoškoláků měla statisticky lepší výsledky. Průkaz kontaminace ejakulátů chlamydiemi, mykoplazmaty a ureaplazmaty v celkové frekvenci ve 49 % zdůrazňuje významnost těchto šetření.
The capital city of Prague has become recently one of the regions in the Czech Republic with the highest level of air pollution from extensively growing transport, complicated by the geomorphology and architecture of the central city areas. Genotoxic and carcinogenic agents such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are present among chemical compounds polluting the atmosphere. The concentrations of these compounds are significantly higher in winter than in the summer months. Material and methods: The impact of air pollution on the quality of sperm was studied in city policemen from Prague. The level of air pollution was assessed on the basis of information from two sources: data from stationary measuring stations AIM Prague and for 48 h using personal sampling devices (URG Corp, USA). The study was performed on 46 city policemen. They were examined in February and in May 2007. Standard analysis of ejaculates was conducted according to the WHO guidelines and chromatin integrity was measured by the SCSA method. Results: No significant differences in the investigated variables of standard analysis (volume of ejaculate, sperm count, motility and viability) were found between the groups of samples collected in February and May. However, the results obtained by evaluation of chromatin integrity of sperm from the city policemen who participated in the study were completely different. The damage, expressed in terms of the percentage of spermatozoa with detectable DNA fragmentation index (d-DFI), high chromatin damage (h-DFI) and percentage of immature cell forms (HDS), was significantly higher (P ? 0.001) in February. Conclusion: The results of the study suggest that exposure of air pollution may have adverse effects on male reproductive function. It follows from the present study that air pollution may be a factor sensitively reflected in particular by sperm chromatin integrity level, even though conventional parameters of ejaculates remain unchanged.
The role of Chlamydia, Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species in male fertility has been studied for a long time. But, the information about their negative influence on semen quality and male fertility is still not very clear and the findings differ between authors. The aim of this study was to find if the presence of these microorganisms in male ejaculate can affect sperm quality. Material and methods: Sperm analysis was performed on 742 ejaculates from 627 men consisting of semen volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility, sperm velocity by Baker´s propulsitivity test, and morphology analysis using optical microscopy. The classification of normal spermatozoa was in accordance with the definition of the WHO laboratory manual (1999). Chlamydia in the ejaculates were detected by a direct immunofluorescent reaction using the Progen Biotechnik GmbH diagnostic set for detection of C. trachomatis, C. psittaci, and C. pneumoniae. The Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma detection were done by semen cultivation on PPLO Broth Base and PPLO Agar Base media (HiMedia Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., India). Results: In total 49.2% of samples were contaminated. Chlamydia species alone were found in 13.4%, Mycoplasma species alone in 4.8%, Ureaplasma species alone in 20.6%, and mixed contamination were detected in 10.4% of ejaculates. In the Chlamydia positive group the quality of ejaculates was lower in all evaluated parameters. In the Mycoplasma positive group the sperm concentration was 29.6% lower (p<0.01) but we did not find any statistically significant differences between Ureaplasma positive and the control group in any of the sperm characteristics. Conclusions: The results showed that both Chlamydial and Mycoplasmal contamination affect sperm quality, but we did not find any negative effect of Ureaplasmal contamination on sperm quality. The lower sperm concentration in Mycoplasma positive samples shows that there can be a possible negative influence of the microorganism on testis parenchyma.
- MeSH
- chromatin patologie MeSH
- financování organizované MeSH
- fragmentace DNA MeSH
- klinické laboratorní techniky MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mužská infertilita komplikace MeSH
- odběr biologického vzorku MeSH
- polycyklické aromatické uhlovodíky škodlivé účinky MeSH
- pracovní expozice MeSH
- spermie patologie MeSH
- statistika jako téma MeSH
- znečištění ovzduší MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- grafy a diagramy MeSH
