title: Novel associations between specific sperm morphological defects and leukocytospermia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the relationship between leukocyte concentrations in semen and sperm morphology in a group of infertile men and healthy fertile donors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Male infertility clinic at a tertiary care teaching hospital and a reproductive medicine unit at a Women's Hospital in the United Kingdom.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-six infertile men and 13 healthy fertile sperm donors (control).
  
  
  METHODS
  Standard semen analysis, seminal leukocyte concentration, and the assessment of sperm morphology and sperm deformity index (SDI), applying Tygerberg's strict criteria.
  
  
  METHODS
  Granulocyte concentrations in semen, percentages of different sperm morphological abnormalities, and SDI scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Leukocyte concentrations were statistically significantly and negatively correlated with the proportion of sperm with damaged acrosomes, cytoplasmic droplet, tail defects, and SDI scores with normal and borderline morphology. The percentage sperm motility was significantly and negatively correlated with leukocytic concentration in semen. However, the leukocytic concentration was not significantly correlated with sperm concentration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study to report a significant positive correlation between leukocytospermia and sperm tail defects, acrosomal damage, and high SDI scores. These observations suggest that leukocytospermia is associated with compromised sperm structural integrity.
authors.affiliation: Reproduction Medicine Unit, Liverpool Women's Hospital, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Nabil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Iwan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lewis-Jones
authors.forename: Rakesh K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D007964:Leukocytosis / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen / Q000166:cytology; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013082:Sperm Tail / Q000473:pathology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology