The efficacy of oxidation reduction potential(ORP) in male infertility and its relationship with seminal leukocyte concentration

Abstract

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) in semen has been reported to have negative effect to male fertile capacity, and recent studies reported the efficacy of oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) which reflects the balance of oxidants and antioxidants in semen. The source of ROS in semen is considered as immature spermatozoa and seminal leukocytes, but the detail is still unknown. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the concentration of seminal leukocytes and oxidative stress level using ROS, ORP. Retrospective study. Between April 2018 and March 2019, 29 infertile males who visited Reproduction Centre of Yokohama City University Medical Center were enrolled. All patients underwent semen analysis and measurement of ROS and ORP levels. The ROS level in semen was measured using Monolight 3010TM Luminometer and the ORP level was measured using MiOXSYS SystemTM. The concentration of peroxidase-positive leukocytes were evaluated using myeloperoxidase staining (Endtz test). The relationship between ROS levels, ORP levels, the concentration of leukocytes and semen parameters were evaluated using correlation analysis. The sperm concentration and motility were 39.6±36.6×106/ml, 30.0±18.9 %, respectively. The total ROS level was 9328.9 (±18851) Relative Light Units, and the ORP level was 46.1(±38.7) mV. The ROS level was significantly correlated with ORP level (r=0.79, p<0.01). The concentration of leukocytes measured by Endtz test was positively correlated with both ORP level (r=0.46, p=0.023) and ROS level (r=0.82, p<0.01). ORP level was negatively correlated with sperm concentration (r= -0.41, p=0.026), while ROS level didn’t show significant correlation with every semen parameters. To our knowledge, this is the first study that showed the significant correlation between ORP levels and seminal leukocytes concentration. Our study suggested that peroxidase-positive leukocyte is one of the main source of ROS in semen. Although ROS was strongly correlated with leukocyte concentration, ORP level is considered to have better potential to reflect the sperm quality.