Journal of Andrology Testis Workshop 2009
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Published-Ahead-of-Print February 19, 2009, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.108.006148
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 30, No. 5, September/October 2009
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.108.006148

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Hormonal Regulation of Total Antioxidant Capacity in Seminal Plasma

ANTONIO MANCINI*, ROBERTO FESTA*, ANDREA SILVESTRINI{dagger}, NICOLA NICOLOTTI{ddagger}, VINCENZO DI DONNA*, GIUSEPPE LA TORRE{ddagger}, ALFREDO PONTECORVI* AND ELISABETTA MEUCCI{dagger}

From the * Division of Endocrinology, the {dagger} Institute of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, and the {ddagger} Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit—Institute of Hygiene, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Rome, Italy.

Correspondence to: Dr Antonio Mancini, Largo G. Vidari 7, 00135 Rome, Italy (e-mail: mancini.giac{at}mclink.it).



Abstract

Infertility is associated with oxidative stress, normally counterbalanced by different antioxidant systems. In order to explore the hormonal control of seminal plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAC) we evaluated TAC and hormone patterns in a group of unselected infertile patients and control subjects. One hundred and ten infertile patients (divided into 3 groups: inflammation, varicocele, and other etiologies) and 31 fertile men were examined, evaluating blood serum gonadotropins, testosterone, estradiol, free tri-iodothyronine, free tetraiodothyronine (FT4), thyrotropin, prolactin (PRL), seminal parameters, and TAC. TAC was measured using the H2O2-metmyoglobin system, which generates the spectroscopically detectable radical cation of the chromogenous compound 2,2I-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate). The "lag time" of its appearance is proportional to the antioxidant activity. Lag phase was significantly higher in varicocele vs controls, whereas it was lower in patients with inflammation vs varicocele or other kinds of infertility. The correlation analysis between hormones and seminal parameters showed an inverse correlation between PRL and sperm motility, and a direct correlation of TAC with PRL and FT4, but not with gonadotropins or gonadal steroids. Our data suggest that systemic hormones may play a role in regulating seminal antioxidant capacity. This is interesting also because some hormones, such as thyroid and pituitary hormones, are not usually tested in the first-level evaluation of male patients with fertility problems.

     Key words: Male infertility, thyroid hormones, prolactin, antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress




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