Oxidative Stress and Its Association with Male Infertility

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) is one of the most common causatives of male infertility. At normal physiological levels, ROS mediate essential physiological roles to ensure proper male reproductive functions such as sperm viability, maturation, hyperactivation, sperm capacitation, motility, and acrosome reaction (AR). Imbalance in ROS generation and antioxidant capacity induces oxidative stress (OS). The excess ROS adversely affects sperm morphology and functions through lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, and apoptosis. These deleterious effects compromise sperm quality in terms of their viability, count, motility, and even fertilizing capability, resulting in male subfertility or, most often, infertility. Assessment and management of OS-induced male infertility is the major concern in current reproductive research arena. This chapter provides a concise review on the generation of ROS in the male reproductive tract and their physiological and pathological roles in male reproduction, with assessment and management of OS-induced male infertility.