Role of Glutathione in Male Infertility.
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Date
2011
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Abstract
Infertility is a worldwide problem and in almost 50% of cases infertility results from
abnormality of the male partners. Apart from endocrine disorders, definitive cause and
mechanism of male infertility is not clear in many cases. Recent evidence indicates that
imbalance between pro-oxidant stress and antioxidant defense plays an important role in the
pathogenesis of male infertility. Among the endogenous antioxidant systems, reduced
glutathione (GSH) plays a significant role in the antioxidant defense of the spermatogenic
epithelium, the epididymis and perhaps in the ejaculated spermatozoa. The current study
was therefore designed to evaluate any association that may exist between GSH levels and
male infertility. Infertile male patients (having female partners with normal fertility
parameters; n=31) and age- matched healthy male fertile control subjects (n=30) were
included in this study. In addition to medical history, semen analyses including semen
volume, sperm count, motility and morphology were done for each subject. As a measure of
antioxidant capacity erythrocyte and seminal plasma GSH concentrations were measured by
Ellman's method in fertile and infertile male subjects. The infertile subjects were similar to
fertile subjects in terms of age. However, semen volume and sperm count was found
significantly lower (p<0.001) in infertile males compared with healthy fertile male
subjects. Percentage of subjects with abnormal sperm morphology and motility were found
higher in infertile group compared with fertile group. The median (range) erythrocyte GSH
level did not differ between the two groups (12.62 (0.67-29.82) versus 13.93 (2.10-21.08)
mg/gm Hb). However, the seminal plasma GSH level was found markedly suppressed in
infertile group (1.64 (0.23-7.50)) compared with fertile group (4.26 (2.32-7.50)) mg/dl
(p<0.001). In the present study seminal plasma GSH level was found markedly suppressed
along with abnormal values for semen volume, sperm concentration and sperm morphology
and motility in infertile subjects compared with fertile subjects. This finding indicates that
low level of seminal plasma GSH level may be associated with male infertility.
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Keywords
Antioxidants, Glutathione, Male Infertility
Citation
Naher Z U, Biswas S K, Mollah F H, Ali M, Arslan MI. Role of Glutathione in Male Infertility. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Biochemistry. 2011; 4(2): 20-25.