Effect of ureaplasma urealyticum infection on sperm quality and sperm cytokine concentration

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of ureaplasma urealyticum(Uu) infection on male sperm quality, nitric oxide(NO) concentration and cytokine interleukin (IL)-17, IL-18 and tumor necrosis factor alpha(TNF-α) concentrations, the mechanism of its action in male infertility was analyzed at the molecular level. Methods From September 2015 to December 2017, 53 male infertility patients who admitted in the outpatient clinic of the Second People's Hospital of Lianyungang were selected.According to whether the patients were infected Uu, they were divided into two groups: male infertility without Uu infection group (B group) and male infertility with Uu infection group (C group, Uu≥107CCU/L). The content of NO in seminal plasma was determined by nitrate reductase method.The contents of cytokines IL-17, IL-18 and TNF-α were detected by flow cytometry microsphere capture chip technique (CBA), and the spermate-related parameters were analyzed in conjunction with the computer-aided semen analysis system(CASA). Results The concentration of NO in the male infertility group with Uu infection group[(145.98±32.28)μmol/L] was significantly higher than that in the male infertility without Uu infection group [(60.93±16.62)μmol/L] and the control group [(35.92±1.73)μmol/L](F=200.987, P<0.01). The semen pH(6.09±0.14), sperm concentration [(26.64±8.34)×106/mL], and forward movement rate(a+ b) [(21.46±6.88)%], sperm survival rate [(28.92±9.17)%] and sperm morphology normal rate [(10.12±4.97)%] in the male infertility group with Uu infection were significantly lower than those in the male infertility without Uu infection group and the control group(all P<0.01). And the concentration of NO in the semen of males waspositively correlated with the concentrations of IL-17, IL-18 and TNF-α(R2=0.916 8, 0.863 0, 0.878 9, all P<0.01). The concentrations of IL-17 and IL-18 were positively correlated(R2=0.934 4, P<0.01). Conclusion Uu infection in infertility patients can cause high NO concentration.The levels of cytokines IL-17, IL-18 and TNF-α are positively correlated with the concentration of NO.The imbalance of various cytokines may be one of the causes of male infertility. Key words: Male infertility; Infection; Ureaplasma urealyticum; Interleukin-17; Interleukin-18; TNF-α; Cytokine; Nitric oxide