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
. 2020 Jun 2;9(6):1690.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9061690.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Treatment and Male Idiopathic Infertility: Effects on Sperm Parameters and Oxidative Stress Indices according to FSHR c. 2039 A/G and c. -29 G/A Genotypes

Laura M Mongioì  1 , Rosita A Condorelli  1 , Angela Alamo  1 , Rossella Cannarella  1 , Nicolò Musso  2 , Sandro La Vignera  1 , Aldo E Calogero  1
Affiliations

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Treatment and Male Idiopathic Infertility: Effects on Sperm Parameters and Oxidative Stress Indices according to FSHR c. 2039 A/G and c. -29 G/A Genotypes

Laura M Mongioì et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Scientific evidence shows that the administration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) to infertile patients with normal serum FSH concentrations improves sperm parameters in oligozoospermic men. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of highly purified urofollitropin (hpFSH) on conventional and bio-functional sperm parameters and on oxidative stress indices in patients with idiopathic infertility. We also evaluated the response to hpFSH on these parameters in relationship to FSHR c. 2039 A/G and FSHR c. -29 G/A genotypes. A prospective longitudinal study was conducted on 42 patients with idiopathic male infertility, 23 of whom underwent to FSHR c. 2039 A/G and FSHR c. -29 G/A genotyping. Each patient was asked to collect two semen samples before and after administration of 150 IU hpFSH three times a week for 16 weeks. Patients were divided into responders or non-responders based on whether their total sperm count had at least doubled or was less than double at the end of treatment, respectively. Responders showed a significantly higher semen volume, sperm concentration, spermatids, and leukocytes. Non-responders had a significant decrease of the percentage of spermatozoa in early apoptosis after hpFSH administration. Oxidative stress indexes did not differ significantly after FSH administration in both groups. Conventional and bio-functional sperm parameters did not differ in patients with FSHR c. 2039 GG and AA genotypes, and FSHR c. -29 GG genotype both before and after FSH administration. The FSHR c. 2039 and FSHR -29 G/A genotypes and allelic distribution did not differ between responders and non-responders. FSH showed to be capable of ameliorating sperm parameters in about half patients treated, therefore it may be helpful in patients with idiopathic infertility.

Keywords: FSHR polymorphisms; Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH); bio-functional sperm parameters; conventional sperm parameters; male idiopathic infertility; oxidative stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the research reported.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conventional sperm parameters before and after treatment with high purified follicle-stimulating hormone (hpFSH) in infertile responder patients, * p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bio-functional sperm parameters before and after treatment with high purified FSH (hpFSH) in infertile non-responder patients. * p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Percentage of spermatozoa with lipoperoxidation before and after treatment with high purified FSH (hpFSH) in infertile responder and non-responder patients. * p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Percentage of spermatozoa with mitochondrial superoxide anion expression before and after treatment with high purified FSH (hpFSH) in infertile responder and non-responder patients. * p < 0.05.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Acosta A.A., Oehninger S., Ertunc H., Philput C. Possible role of pure human follicle-stimulating hormone in the treatment of severe male-factor infertility by assisted reproduction: Preliminary report. Fertil. Steril. 1991;55:1150–1156. doi: 10.1016/S0015-0282(16)54367-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Acosta A.A., Khalifa E., Oehninger S. Pure human follicle stimulating hormone has a role in the treatment of severe male infertility by assisted reproduction: Norfolk’s total experience. Hum. Reprod. 1992;7:1067–1072. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.humrep.a137794. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Santi D., Granata A.R., Simoni M. FSH treatment of male idiopathic infertility improves pregnancy rate: A meta-analysis. Endocr. Connect. 2015;4:R46–R58. doi: 10.1530/EC-15-0050. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Barbonetti A., Calogero A.E., Balercia G., Garolla A., Krausz C., La Vignera S., Lombardo F., Jannini E.A., Maggi M., Lenzi A., et al. The use of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) for the treatment of the infertile man: Position statement from the Italian Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine (SIAMS) J. Endocrinol. Investig. 2018;41 doi: 10.1007/s40618-018-0843-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Baccetti B., Strehler E., Capitani S., Collodel G., De Santo M., Moretti E., Piomboni P., Wiedeman R., Sterzik K. The effect of follicle stimulating hormone therapy on human sperm structure (Notulaeseminologicae 11) Hum. Reprod. 1997;12:1955–1968. doi: 10.1093/humrep/12.9.1955. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources