[Effects of smoking on sperm apoptosis and semen quality of adult males in the main urban area of Chongqing].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of smoking on sperm apoptosis and semen quality of healthy adult males in the main urban area of Chongqing.


METHODS
According to the smoking habit, we divided 235 healthy adult males into a non-smoking group (n = 89) and a smoking group (n = 146). Then we detected the routine semen parameters by the computer-assisted semen analysis system and obtained the parameters of sperm apoptosis (the ratios of AN-/PI-, AN+/PI-, AN+/PI+ and AN-/PI+ sperm) by flow cytometry combined with Annexin V-FITC/PI fluorescence staining.


RESULTS
The rate of early apoptotic sperm (AN+/PI-) was higher in the smoking than in the non-smoking group ([8.1 +/- 5.1]% vs [6.8 +/- 3.8]%; P = 0.039), but there were no significant differences between the two groups in the rate of late apoptotic sperm (AN+/PI+) ([5.6 +/- 5.2]% vs [5.5 +/- 5.1]%; P = 0.87), as well as in such routine semen indexes as semen volume, sperm density, sperm motility, sperm vitality and normal sperm morphology (P = 0.30, 0.82, 0.37, 0.81 and 0.84, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
The rate of early apoptotic sperm is higher in smokers than in non-smokers, suggesting that smoking may induce early damage to sperm cells. Compared with routine semen parameters, sperm apoptosis is a more sensitive biomarker to reflect smoking-induced damage to sperm.
School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China.
Ni-Ya
NY
Zhou
Jia
J
Cao
Zhi-Hong
ZH
Cui
Xue
X
Han
Min
M
Cai
Hua-Qiong
HQ
Bao
Ya-Fei
YF
Li
Jun-Lin
JL
He
D017209:Apoptosis; D002681:China; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012661:Semen; D055101:Semen Analysis; D012907:Smoking; D013076:Sperm Count; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*