Reactive oxygen species in semen of infertile patients: levels of superoxide dismutase- and catalase-like activities in seminal plasma and spermatozoa.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) can be detected in the semen of 40% of infertile men, whereas none is detected in semen from normal men. The ROS detected in semen are a reflection of the imbalance between ROS production and degradation. The aim of the present study was to determine whether a lowered scavenging capacity or an increased production of ROS was responsible for the ROS detected in semen samples from infertile men. Two activities were investigated: (1) catalase-like activity, which is responsible for the degradation of H2O2 and (2) superoxide dismutase-like (SOD-like) activity which is responsible for the degradation of .O2-. Catalase-like and SOD-like activities were found in whole seminal plasma, in dialyzed seminal plasma (> 12 kD), in an ultrafiltrate of seminal plasma (< 5 kD) and in spermatozoa. There was no significant difference in the SOD-like activities measured in spermatozoa, or in seminal plasma (whole or fractionated) from samples that did or did not produce ROS. SOD-like activity originated mostly from the high molecular weight components of seminal plasma. However, the catalase-like activity of whole seminal plasma and of spermatozoa was significantly greater (P = 0.01) in those samples that produced ROS as compared to those that did not. The catalase-like activity in dialyzed seminal plasma, and an ultrafiltrate of seminal plasma from semen samples that did or did not produce ROS were not statistically different. The catalase-like activity of the seminal plasma originated equally from high and low molecular weight components.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Zini
A
A
Urology Research Laboratory, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
de Lamirande
E
E
Gagnon
C
C
D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism*; D012661:Semen / Q000201:enzymology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism*
D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase