title: Male fertility and varicocoele: role of immune factors.
abstract: The role of antisperm antibodies (ASA) in the aetiopathogenesis of varicocoele-related male infertility remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether varicocoele is associated with antisperm immune response and whether this factor provides additional affect on male fertility. We performed a multicentral, prospective study that included the clinical examination of 1639 male subjects from infertile couples and 90 fertile men, the evaluation of the absolute and relative risks of immune infertility associated with varicocoele and the impact of the autoimmune response on the semen quality. The methods used were as follows: standard examination of seminal fluid according to WHO criteria; ASA detection in seminal fluid using mixed antiglobulin reaction (MAR) and direct flow cytometry; measurement of spontaneous and ionophore-induced acrosome reactions; oxidative stress evaluation with luminal-dependent chemiluminescence method and evaluation of DNA fragmentation by sperm chromatin dispersion. The prevalence of varicocoele-related immune infertility is about 15% and does not depend on the grade of vein dilatation both in primary and secondary fertility disorders. Varicocoele is not an immediate cause of autoimmune reactions against spermatozoa, but is a cofactor increasing ASA risk; the OR of immune infertility after a testicular trauma in varicocoele patients increases twofold. In varicocoele patients, the autoimmune antisperm reaction is accompanied by a more significant decrease in the semen quality (concentration and number of progressively motile and morphologically normal spermatozoa in the ejaculate), acrosome reaction disorders (presence of pre-term spontaneous and lack of induced reactions) and an increase in the proportion of spermatozoa with DNA fragmentation. These disorders correlate with the level of sperm oxidative stress; reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in ASA-positive varicocoele patients is 2.8 and 3.5 times higher than in ASA-negative varicocoele patients and fertile men respectively. We did not find correlation between the grade of spermatic cord vein dilatation and ROS production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Perinatology and Reproduction, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia; Department of Clinical Andrology, The Federal State Budget Institution Peoples' Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia; Federal State Budget Institution "Polyclinic No 1" of the Business Administration for the President of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Bozhedomov
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Lipatova
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Rokhlikov
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Alexeev
authors.forename: I V
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Ushakova
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Sukhikh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000276:immunology* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009920:Orchitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000276:immunology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000276:immunology*; D055101:Semen Analysis; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D014646:Varicocele / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000601:surgery; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species
keywords: acrosome reaction; antisperm antibodies; male infertility; oxidative stress; sperm DNA fragmentation; varicocoele