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
. 2016 Apr;33(4):529-34.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-016-0660-1. Epub 2016 Jan 22.

Oxidative stress level in fresh ejaculate is not related to semen parameters or to pregnancy rates in cycles with donor oocytes

Aïda Pujol  1 , Albert Obradors  1 , Erica Esteo  1 , Beatriz Costilla  1 , Désireé García  2 , Valerie Vernaeve  1 , Rita Vassena  3
Affiliations

Oxidative stress level in fresh ejaculate is not related to semen parameters or to pregnancy rates in cycles with donor oocytes

Aïda Pujol et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2016 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the present study is to study the relationship between oxidative stress (OS) in semen, semen characteristics, and reproductive outcomes in oocyte donation intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles.

Methods: OS was measured in 132 semen samples.

Results: OS levels were as follows: very high (1.5 %), high (43.2 %), low (30.3 %), and very low (25.0 %). Overall seminal parameters were as follows: volume (ml) = 4.2 (SD 2.1), concentration (millions/ml) = 61.6 (SD 59.8), motility (a+b%) = 47.4 (SD 18.0), and normal spermatozoa (%) = 8.2 (SD 5.1). Of the 101 cycles that reached embryo transfer, 55.4 % evolved in biochemical, 46.5 % in clinical, and 43.6 % in ongoing pregnancy. OS level does not relate to seminal parameters, fertilization rate, or pregnancy outcomes.

Conclusions: OS testing by nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) in fresh ejaculate might not be useful for all patients. Reproductive results with young oocytes and ICSI do not seem to be affected by OS-level semen.

Keywords: ICSI; Oocyte donation; Oxidative stress; Pregnancy rates; Sperm.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Wright C, Milne S, Leeson H. Sperm DNA damage caused by oxidative stress: modifiable clinical, lifestyle and nutritional factors in male infertility. Reprod Biomed Online. 2014;28(6):684–703. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2014.02.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aitken RJ, Clarkson JS. Cellular basis of defective sperm function and its association with the genesis of reactive oxygen species by human spermatozoa. J Reprod Fertil. 1987;81(2):459–69. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0810459. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Alvarez JG, Touchstone JC, Blasco L, Storey BT. Spontaneous lipid peroxidation and production of hydrogen peroxide and superoxide in human spermatozoa. Superoxide dismutase as major enzyme protectant against oxygen toxicity. J Androl. 1987;8(5):338–48. doi: 10.1002/j.1939-4640.1987.tb00973.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Lamirande E, O’Flaherty C. Sperm activation: role of reactive oxygen species and kinases. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2008;1784(1):106–15. doi: 10.1016/j.bbapap.2007.08.024. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Aitken RJ, Paterson M, Fisher H, Buckingham DW, van Duin M. Redox regulation of tyrosine phosphorylation in human spermatozoa and its role in the control of human sperm function. J Cell Sci. 1995;108(Pt 5):2017–25. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources