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
Review
. 2020 Oct 18;20(1):41-52.
doi: 10.1002/rmb2.12353. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Oxidative stress and male infertility

Teppei Takeshima  1 , Kimitsugu Usui  1 , Kohei Mori  1 , Takuo Asai  1 , Kengo Yasuda  1 , Shinnosuke Kuroda  1 , Yasushi Yumura  1
Affiliations
Review

Oxidative stress and male infertility

Teppei Takeshima et al. Reprod Med Biol. .

Abstract

Background: Between 30% and 80% of patients with male infertility produce excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) in their ejaculate even though the cause of male infertility is unexplained in approximately half of cases. The strong connection between oxidative stress (OS) and male infertility has led recent investigators to propose the term "Male Oxidative Stress Infertility (MOSI)" to describe OS-associated male infertility.

Methods: We searched the PubMed database for original and review articles to survey the effects of OS on male infertility, and then verified the effects and treatments.

Main findings: Seminal plasma contains many antioxidants that protect sperm from ROS, because low amounts of ROS are required in the physiological fertilization process. The production of excessive ROS causes OS which can lower fertility through lipid peroxidation, sperm DNA damage, and apoptosis. Several assays are available for evaluating OS, including the MiOXSYS® analyzer to measure oxidation-reduction potential. Several measures should be considered for minimizing OS and improving clinical outcomes.

Conclusion: Accurately diagnosing patients with MOSI and identifying highly sensitive biomarkers through proteomics technology is vital for better clinical outcomes.

Keywords: antioxidants; lipid peroxidation; male infertility; oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest: The authors report no declarations of interest. Human/animal rights statements and informed consent: This article does not contain any studies with human and animal subjects performed by any of the authors. Approval by Ethics Committee: This research was supported by the Ethics Committee of Yokohama City University Medical Center.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Factors that can cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress results from a disturbance of homeostatic balance between ROS production and antioxidant capacity in seminal plasma
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Measurement of ROS by chemiluminescence method. ROS production levels were calculated as the integrated chemiluminescence for 30 min after the addition of luminol (5‐amino‐2,3‐dihydro‐1,4‐phtalazinedione) to unwashed semen after baseline subtraction
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Definitions of infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss: a committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2013;99(1):63. - PubMed
    1. Hamada A, Esteves SC, Nizza M, et al. Unexplained male infertility: diagnosis and management. Int Braz J Urol. 2012;38(5):576‐594. - PubMed
    1. Yumura Y, Tsujimura A, Imamoto T, et al. Nationwide survey of urological specialists regarding male infertility: results from a 2015 questionnaire in Japan. Reprod Med Biol. 2018;17(1):44‐51. - PMC - 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):459‐469. - PubMed
    1. Sharma RK, Agarwal A. Role of reactive oxygen species in male infertility. Urology. 1996;48(6):835‐850. - PubMed