[Seminal plasma levocarnitine significantly correlated with semen quality].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the relationship of seminal plasma levocarnitine with sperm concentration, vitality and motility.


METHODS
Enrolled in this study were 64 infertile men, who were divided according to the results of routine sperm tests into a normozoospermia (n = 12), an oligozoospermia (n = 16), an asthenozoospermia (n = 20) and an oligoasthenozoospermia group (n = 16). The level of seminal plasma levocarnitine was detected by LC-MS-MS, the concentration of seminal plasma testosterone measured by chemiluminescence immunoassay, the correlation of seminal plasma levocarnitine with sperm concentration, motility and vitality determined by bivariate correlation analysis with SPSS15.0, and so was the correlation between the carnitine and sperm concentration by partial correlation analysis with seminal plasma testosterone as a control variable to exclude the influence of testosterone.


RESULTS
The concentrations of total seminal plasma levocarnitine, free seminal plasma levocarnitine and seminal plasma acetolevocarnitine were (91.33 +/- 40.49) mg/L, (40.89 +/- 24.13) mg/L and (50.44 +/- 21.90) mg/L; the Pearson coefficients of correlation of the levocarnitine level with sperm motility, vitality and concentration were 0.161 (P = 0.235), 0.114 (P = 0.370) and 0.637 (P < 0.001), those of free seminal carnitine with sperm motility and vitality were 0.325 (P = 0.024) and 0.316 (P = 0.029), respectively, with the oligozoospermia group excluded, and that of partial correlation between the concentrations of seminal levocarnitine and sperm was 0.641 (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
The level of seminal plasma levocarnitine is positively correlated with sperm motility and vitality, and more significantly with sperm concentration.
Tang
Ling-Feng
LF
Department of Urology, The Third Hospital of Peking University, Beijing 100083, China. lingfengtang1982@gmail.com
Jiang
Hui
H
Shang
Xue-Jun
XJ
Zhao
Lian-Ming
LM
Bai
Quan
Q
Hong
Kai
K
Liu
De-Feng
DF
Liu
Jian-Ming
JM
Yuan
Ren-Pei
RP
Chen
Qian
Q
Ma
Lu-Lin
LL
D000328:Adult; D002331:Carnitine / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
D002331:Carnitine