title: Cost-effective diagnosis of male oxidative stress using the nitroblue tetrazolium test: useful application for the developing world.
abstract: Seminal oxidative stress plays an important role in male factor infertility (MFI), worldwide. A study was thus undertaken for the first time to establish seminal reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a clinical marker of MFI in a cohort of Sri Lankan males. The nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) assay for ROS estimation and modified Endtz test for detecting leucocytes were carried out on semen samples (N = 102) of subfertile males. Age-matched individuals (N = 30) with proven past paternity served as controls. Significantly higher ROS production was evident in individuals with asthenozoospermia and unexplained infertility (Mann-Whitney U-test, P = 0.000), than in the fertile and the other subfertile groups tested. Receiver operating characteristic plot analysis established cut-off points of 40.57 and 42.02 μg formazan/10(7) spermatozoa for ROS to distinguish fertile males from asthenozoospermics (71.4% sensitivity: 70% specificity; AUC = 0.82), and from unexplained infertile males (74.1 % sensitivity: 73.3% specificity; AUC = 0.85) respectively. As ROS appear to be a potential marker of male infertility, it is imperative to validate this test as a simple, cost-effective hence a widely accessible diagnostic tool to be included in MFI investigations in the developing world.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Amarasekara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wijerathna
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fernando
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Udagama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D053627:Asthenozoospermia / Q000175:diagnosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D003906:Developing Countries; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D009580:Nitroblue Tetrazolium; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000032:analysis; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry*; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods; D013188:Sri Lanka
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D009580:Nitroblue Tetrazolium