Elsevier

Urology

Volume 55, Issue 6, June 2000, Pages 922-926
Urology

Adult urology
Antioxidant activity in the semen of fertile and infertile men

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0090-4295(00)00453-2Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives. To evaluate catalase- and superoxide dismutase (SOD)-like activities in the seminal plasma of fertile and infertile men.

Methods. Semen samples were obtained from consecutive men presenting for vasectomy (n = 12) and infertility evaluation (n = 105) at our institution. Catalase-like activity was measured by the decrease in hydrogen peroxide after incubation with seminal plasma. SOD-like activity was measured as the inhibition of nitroblue tetrazolium reduction due to superoxide anion generation by xanthine plus xanthine oxidase.

Results. Mean seminal catalase-like activity (±SEM) in fertile men was not significantly different from that of infertile men (369 ± 49 versus 326 ± 17 U/mL, respectively). Mean SOD-like activity in the semen of infertile men was significantly greater than in the semen of fertile controls (46.7 ± 1.5 versus 37.0 ± 2.8 U/mL, respectively, P <0.05).

Conclusions. Our data show that infertile men do not have deficient seminal plasma SOD- and/or catalase-like activity (two key antioxidants). These findings suggest that the high semen ROS levels in some infertile men are likely due to excessive generation of ROS rather than deficient ROS scavenging activity in semen.

Section snippets

Material

All chemicals were obtained from Sigma (St. Louis, Mo) and were at least reagent grade.

Sperm preparation, treatments, and motility analysis

Semen samples were obtained from consecutive men presenting for vasectomy (n = 12) and infertility evaluation (n = 105) at our institution. All men presenting for vasectomy had previously fathered at least 2 children. All couples presenting for infertility evaluation had a minimum of 1 year of unprotected intercourse. This study was undertaken under ongoing internal review board approval. Samples were

Results

The mean age, semen volume, and catalase- and SOD-like activity of the fertile (n = 12) and infertile (n = 105) groups are shown in Table I. As a group, fertile men were significantly older than infertile men but mean semen volume and seminal catalase-like activity were not significantly different in the two groups. Mean seminal SOD-like activity was significantly greater in infertile men compared to fertile controls (46.7 ± 1.5 versus 37.0 ± 2.8 U/mL, respectively, P <0.05).

The infertile group

Comment

In this study, we showed that infertile men do not have deficient seminal plasma SOD- and/or catalase-like activity. In fact, seminal SOD-like activity was significantly higher in infertile men than in fertile controls. Although the significance of elevated SOD-like activity in the semem of infertile men is unknown, we know that SOD is expressed in several male reproductive tract tissues, including testis, epididymis, prostate, and seminal vesicles.16 It is possible that in one or more of these

Conclusions

In summary, our data suggest that the seminal plasma of infertile men is not deficient in SOD- and/or catalase-like activity (two key antioxidants). These results support the notion that the high levels of semen ROS detected in some infertile men are due primarily to excessive generation of ROS and not to defective antioxidant defenses. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that a small subset of patients with high semen ROS levels have low levels of semen antioxidants.

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