Biology and Medicine

Abstract

Evaluation of Seminal Plasma Antioxidants and Serum Male Hormones Status in Infertile Patients with Unbalanced Chromosomal Abnormalities

Assila Hadj Ali, Meriem Mahdi, Tesnim Ajina, Ali Saad and Habib Ben Ali

Background: Male infertility appears to be a major clinical problem among men of reproductive age in all societies. Idiopathic male infertility is considered to be a multifactorial disorder affected by genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. Oxidative stress seems to stand out as one of the underlying mechanisms. In this context, we aimed to evaluate seminal plasma antioxidants SOD (superoxide dismutase), GPx (glutathione peroxidase), CAT (catalase) and zinc levels, hormone levels, and semen parameters in fertile donors and patients with unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities.
Methods: Semen samples from 119 patients with unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities and 30 fertile men were analyzed according to World Health Organization guidelines (2010). All patients underwent a measurement of testosterone (T), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). Seminal plasma antioxidants activities of SOD, GPx, CAT and zinc concentration were measured using colorimetric methods.
Results and conclusion: Hormonal analysis showed statistically significant increase of FSH and LH levels in all patients (p<0.001). However, a significant decrease of serum testosterone level was observed in patients compared to fertile group (p<0.05). Seminal antioxidant system evaluation revealed a significant decrease of CAT, GPx, SOD and zinc activities in infertile group compared to fertile group (p<0.05). Our study showed that patients with unbalanced chromosomal abnormalities had significant alterations of antioxidant system and a significant perturbation of hormonal levels which interfere with fertility. These alterations may be due to a loss or derangement of chromosomal segments containing genes involved in the regulation of these systems.