Effect of bacterial infection on sperm quality and DNA fragmentation in subfertile men with Leukocytospermia

Zeinolabedin Sharifian Dastjerdi,Maryam Hosseinzadeh Shirzeyli,Fatemeh Eini,Maryam Azizi Kutenaei,Ensieh Salehi,Fayegheh Zareei

doi:10.1186/s12860-021-00380-8

Zeinolabedin Sharifian Dastjerdi, Maryam Hosseinzadeh Shirzeyli + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12860-021-00380-8

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Abstract

BackgroundAlthough bacterial infections have been recognized as a possible cause of male infertility, the effect of bacterial infections on sperm quality and sperm DNA fragmentation remains controversial. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence rate of bacterial infection in subfertile men and its effect on semen quality. Seminal fluid was collected from 172 male members of infertile couples attending the andrology infertility center and a group of 35 fertile subjects as a control. Sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation were evaluated based on the type of bacteria in all ejaculates.ResultsFrom the 172 patients investigated for infertility, 60 (34.88%) patients had a positive culture for pathogenic bacteria of different species. Leukocytospermia was significantly higher in infected samples in comparison with non-infected samples (p < 0.05). Sperm concentration and motility and morphology were significantly lower in infected than non-infected samples. Moreover, sperm DNA fragmentation was significantly higher in infected than non-infected samples. Besides, our results showed that sperm DNA fragmentation was correlated significantly with leukocytospermia (R: 0.22, p < 0.01).ConclusionThe present study suggested that bacterial infection significantly correlated with leukocytospermia could impair male fertility potential through decreasing sperm motility, morphology, and DNA integrity.

Highlights

Infertility or subfertility is defined as the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 1 year of regular and unprotected sexual intercourse
Our results revealed that the association between leukocytospermia and bacterial detection was statistically significant (Odds Ratio: 3.96, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.04 to 7.68) (Table 2)
We showed that the most prevalent bacteria species was related to E. faecalis, S. agalactiae, E. coli, S. aureus, S. haemolyticus, Proteus spp., and K. pneumoniae, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Infertility or subfertility is defined as the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 1 year of regular and unprotected sexual intercourse. A male subfertility is a clinical disorder that accounts for almost 30% of reproductive-aged couples worldwide [1, 2]. The most salient feature of male subfertility is oligoasthenoteratozoospermia It is characterized by abnormal count, motility, and morphology of spermatozoa in semen samples [3]. Male subfertility could be idiopathic or caused by various factors including immunogenic defects, anatomical and genetic disorders, inflammation reasons, and infection problems [4]. Inflammation pathways could be activated by several inducers including dysfunction in accessory glands, oxidative stress, the anatomical obstacle in the seminal tract, and microorganism infections directly affecting semen quality [5]. Bacterial infections have been recognized as a possible cause of male infertility, the effect of bacterial infections on sperm quality and sperm DNA fragmentation remains controversial. Sperm parameters and DNA fragmentation were evaluated based on the type of bacteria in all ejaculates

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