Increased levels of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide in male partners of infertile couples

Abstract

We investigated the prevalence of oxidative stress in male partners of infertile couples displaying different inflammation patterns in their genital tract and/or oligospermia. The levels of acknowledged oxidative stress markers (8-isoprostanes [8-EPI], diene conjugates, reactive oxygen species-total antioxidant capacity [ROS-TAC] score) were elevated in both leukocytospermic men and subjects whose inflammation was limited only to expressed prostatic secretion and/or post-massage urine. Oligospermic men with severe inflammation were different from oligospermic men who had no inflammation at all - the former had elevated 8-EPI, diene conjugates and ROS-TAC score when compared to the latter indicating that inflammation has substantially more significant impact on oxidative stress markers than oligospermia status. At the same time nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) levels were significantly increased not only in the men with severe inflammation but also in men with borderline inflammation in their genital tact and in men having non-inflammatory oligospermia. NO, H2 O2 and 8-EPI were negatively correlated with per cent of normal sperms, and NO and H2 O2 showed negative correlation also with sperm count. We can conclude that in men presenting with couple infertility the acknowledged oxidative stress markers are substantially associated with markers of inflammation in genital tract while NO and H2 O2 display high levels also in patients with mild inflammation and non-inflammatory oligospermia.

Keywords: hydrogen peroxide; inflammation; male infertility; nitric oxide; oxidative stress.