title: Serum levels of lycopene, beta-carotene, and retinol and their correlation with sperm DNA damage in normospermic and infertile men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oxidative stress in reproductive system leads to sperm DNA damage and sperm membrane lipid peroxidation and may play an important role in the pathogenesis of male infertility, especially in idiopathic cases. Antioxidants such as carotenoids function against free radical damages.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the levels of lycopene, beta-carotene and retinol in serum and their relationship with sperm DNA damage and lipid peroxidation in infertile and normospermic males.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty two infertile men and 71 normospermic men participated in this study. Blood and semen samples were collected from all subjects. Sperm DNA damage was measured using TUNEL method. Carotenoids, retinol, and malonedildehyde in serum were also determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  DNA fragmentation was higher in infertile group comparing to control group. Serum levels of lycopene, beta-carotene and, vitamin A in infertile men were significantly lower than normospermic men (p< 0.001, =0.005, and =0.003 respectively). While serum MDA was not significantly different between two groups, MDA in seminal plasma of infertile men was significantly higher than control group (p< 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that lycopene, beta-carotene, and retinol can reduce sperm DNA fragmentation and lipid peroxidation through their antioxidant effect. Therefore the DNA fragmentation assay and determination of antioxidants factors such as lycopene, beta-carotene and retinol, along with sperm analysis can be useful in diagnosis and treatment of men with idiopathic infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Taiebeh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ghyasvand
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad Taghi
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Goodarzi
authors.affiliation: Endometer and Endometriosis Centre, Fatemieh Hospital, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran .
authors.forename: Iraj
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Amiri
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.
authors.forename: Jamshid
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: Endometer and Endometriosis Centre, Fatemieh Hospital, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran .
authors.forename: Marzieh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ghorbani
keywords: Beta- carotene; DNA damage; Infertility; Lipid peroxidation; Lycopene; Malondialdehyde; Retinol