Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan;6(4):258-65.
Epub 2013 Mar 3.

The effect of cigarette smoking on human sperm creatine kinase activity: as an ATP buffering system in sperm

Mohammad Ali Ghaffari  1 , Morad Rostami  1
Affiliations

The effect of cigarette smoking on human sperm creatine kinase activity: as an ATP buffering system in sperm

Mohammad Ali Ghaffari et al. Int J Fertil Steril. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Background: Spermatozoa are a group of cells that consume adenosine triphosphate (ATP) rapidly. Creatine kinase (CK), produced by creatine phosphate, is an energy reservoir for the rapid buffering and regeneration of ATP and can play an important role in sperm motility. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of cigarette smoking on human sperm CK activity in males who smoke.

Materials and methods: In this case - control study, we obtained semen samples from male smokers (n=64) and nonsmokers (n=83). Smokers were categorized as light, moderate, or heavy smokers according to the daily number of cigarettes smoked and the number of years they have smoked. Data were analyzed by the independent t test and Pearson's analysis.

Results: This investigation showed significantly lower sperm CK activity and movement in male smokers compared to nonsmokers. In addition, it was demonstrated that cigarette smoking had a dose-dependent effect on these parameters. There was a positive relation, although not significant, between sperm CK activity and its motility in male smokers.

Conclusion: Smoking, by diminishing sperm CK activity, may potentially impair sperm energy homeostasis and have an association with damage to sperm motility. This effect can be an important mechanism that may cause infertility in male smokers. However, further research is necessary to elucidate the underlying mechanism of sperm motility damage caused by cigarette smoking.

Keywords: Cigarette Smoking, ,; Creatine Kinase; Sperm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1
The relationship between smoking duration and sperm motility (A), CK activity in seminal plasma (B), sperm (C), and total semen (D).
Fig 2
Fig 2
The relationship between numbers of cigarettes smoked daily and sperm motility (A), CK activity in seminal plasma (B), sperm (C), and total semen (D).
Fig 3
Fig 3
The relationship between sperm motility and CK activity in seminal plasma (A), sperm (B), and total semen (C) in smokers.
Fig 4
Fig 4
The relationship between sperm CK activity and CK activity in seminal plasma (A) and total semen (B) in smokers
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Saika K, Machii R. Cancer mortality attributable to tobacco in Asia based on the WHO Global Report. Jpn J Clin Oncol. 2012;42(10):985–985. - PubMed
    1. Kunzle R, Mueller MD, Hunggi W, Birkhäuser MH, Drescher H, Bersinger NA. Semen quality of male smokers and nonsmokers in infertile couples. Fertil Steril. 2003;79(2):287–291. - PubMed
    1. Wong WY, Thomas CM, Merkus HM, Zielhuis GA, Doesburg WH, Steegers-Theunissen RP. Cigarette smoking and the risk of male factor subfertility: minor association between cotinine in seminal plasma and semen morphology. Fertil Steril. 2000;74(5):930–935. - PubMed
    1. Zavos PM, Correa JR, Antypas S, Zarmakoupis-Zavos PN, Zarmakoupis CN. Effects of seminal plasma from cigarette smokers on sperm viability and longevity. Fertil Steril. 1998;69(3):425–429. - PubMed
    1. Zhang JP, Meng QY, Wang Q, Zhang LJ, Mao YL, Sun ZX. Effect of smoking on semen quality of infertile men in Shandong, China. Asian J Androl. 2000;2(2):143–146. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources