Condition of a cellular link of innate immunity in infertile men against the background of toxocariasis invasion

Abstract

Aim. Investigating the role of various factors in the development of pathospermia, such as: the presence of toxocariasis invasion, the level of DNA fragmentation of sperm, indices of the cellular link of innate immunity, could complement existing methods and will allow the determination of the share of influence of each factor on the ultrastructure of spermatozoa for a more in-depth understanding of the pathogenesis of violations of male reproductive function. That is why the aim of our research was to study the peculiarities of disorders of the cellular link of innate immunity in men with infertility against the background of toxocariasis invasion. Materials and methods. 89 men aged from 20 to 45 years, which were divided into 5 groups, were examined. The first (control) group consisted of 12 fertile men; the second group (comparison group) – 27 infertile patients with normal level of DNA fragmentation of sperm and without antibodies to toxocariasis; the third group – 20 infertile men with normal level of DNA fragmentation of sperm and presence of antibodies to toxocariasis. The fourth and fifth groups included 15 infertile men with high levels of DNA fragmentation of sperm and the presence and absence of antibodies to toxocariasis respectively. A comprehensive research was conducted for all the men that included determination of sperm DNA fragmentation, presence of toxocariasis invasion and the study of the state of the cellular link of innate immunity as well as assessment of the degree of immune system disorders. Results. The incompleteness of phagocytosis in neutrophilic and monocytic elements was observed in all studied groups, in the second and fifth groups with the preservation of the functional-metabolic reserve and the depletion of it in the third and fourth groups. The results of the assessment of the degree of immune system disorders have shown that most immunologically compromised are the groups without the presence of toxocariasis invasion, in which there was an immune failure of 2–3 degree. In groups with the presence of toxocariasis, on the contrary, changes from activation to immune failure of 2 degree (due to the growth of absorbing capacity of monocytes) were determined, which may be due to the presence of toxocariasis invasion, which, in turn, obviously causes the activation of the monocytic link. Conclusions. The state of the cellular link of innate immunity in infertile men is characterized by incompleteness of phagocytosis of both neutrophilic and monocytic elements. The presence of toxocariasis invasion in this contingent of patients, in turn, introduces certain changes to the phagocytic system, which manifests itself as an increase in absorbing capacity of monocytes, which are key immune factors in the protection against helminths.