Journal of Andrology, Vol 20, Issue 6 718-723, Copyright © 1999 by The American Society of Andrology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Evaluation of oxidative DNA damage in human sperm and its association with male infertility

H. M. Shen, S. E. Chia and C. N. Ong
Department of Community, Occupational, and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore.

Recently, there is increasing evidence suggesting that oxidative sperm DNA damage is closely associated with impaired sperm function and male infertility. 8-Hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) is considered to be a precise and sensitive biomarker of oxidative DNA damage. The present study was thus designed to evaluate the extent of oxidative DNA damage in sperm and its association with male infertility by assaying the 8-OHdG levels in human sperm samples. A total of 114 subjects (60 infertile patients and 54 age-matched healthy workers) participated in this study. The level of 8-OHdG in sperm DNA was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection, and the conventional seminal parameters were also measured according to World Health Organization guidelines. It was found that the level of sperm 8-OHdG in infertile patients was significantly higher than that in healthy subjects (10.03 vs. 4.79 8-OHdG/10(5) dG; geometric mean, P < 0.001). The correlation between sperm 8-OHdG levels and conventional seminal parameters were also analyzed. There is a significant positive correlation between 8-OHdG and sperm head defects (r = 0.38, P < 0.001), whereas significant inverse correlations were noted for 8-OHdG with sperm density (r = -0.42, P < 0.001), total sperm number (r = -0.42, P < 0.001), sperm motility (r = -0.24, P < 0.01), and normal sperm morphology (r = -0.39, P < 0.001). Data from this study thus indicate that oxidative damage to sperm DNA may be important in the etiology of male infertility and that the assay of sperm 8-OHdG may have potential diagnostic value in the evaluation of sperm function and male fertility.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Loft, T. Kold-Jensen, N. H. Hjollund, A. Giwercman, J. Gyllemborg, E. Ernst, J. Olsen, T. Scheike, H. E. Poulsen, and J. P. Bonde Oxidative DNA damage in human sperm influences time to pregnancy Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2003; 18(6): 1265 - 1272. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A.-K. Olsen, N. Duale, M. Bjoras, C. T. Larsen, R. Wiger, J. A. Holme, E. C. Seeberg, and G. Brunborg Limited repair of 8-hydroxy-7,8-dihydroguanine residues in human testicular cells Nucleic Acids Res., February 15, 2003; 31(4): 1351 - 1363. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. H. Phillips Smoking-related DNA and protein adducts in human tissues Carcinogenesis, December 1, 2002; 23(12): 1979 - 2004. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. Trummer, H. Habermann, J. Haas, and K. Pummer The impact of cigarette smoking on human semen parameters and hormones Hum. Reprod., June 1, 2002; 17(6): 1554 - 1559. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S.-S. Chen, L. S. Chang, H.-W. Chen, and Y.-H. Wei Polymorphisms of glutathione S-transferase M1 and male infertility in Taiwanese patients with varicocele Hum. Reprod., March 1, 2002; 17(3): 718 - 725. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Dinara, K. Sengoku, K. Tamate, M. Horikawa, and M. Ishikawa Effects of supplementation with free radical scavengers on the survival and fertilization rates of mouse cryopreserved oocytes Hum. Reprod., September 1, 2001; 16(9): 1976 - 1981. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. Sutovsky, Y. Terada, and G. Schatten Ubiquitin-based sperm assay for the diagnosis of male factor infertility Hum. Reprod., February 1, 2001; 16(2): 250 - 258. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]