Free radical and superoxide reactivity detection in semen quality assessment: past, present, and future.
Oxidative stress is a well-established cause of male infertility, with reactive oxygen species (ROS) impairing sperm production, motility, membrane, and DNA integrity. Currently, most clinics do not test infertile patients for the imbalance between ROS generation and the ability of the antioxidants to scavenge them, although there is a clear need for andrology laboratories to be able to identify and/or quantify seminal oxidative stress. As such there is a clinical urgency for an inexpensive and easy-to-perform assay able to identify oxidative stress in semen. The aim of this review is to provide information on the currently available methods to assess and quantify ROS and particularly superoxide in male reproductive cells, tissues, and fluids which may have a significant clinical utility in identifying men with impaired fertility associated with oxidative stress. Through a deeper understanding of oxidative stress and its assessment options, clinical andrology labs may better assist patients to achieve increased rates of fertility and pregnancy.
Department of Biology, Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Edificio de Biología, Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
Jaime
J
Gosalvez
Department of Animal Physiology, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Tr. A. Hlinku 2, 94976, Nitra, Slovak Republic. evina.tvrda@gmail.com.
Eva
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2895-1249
E
Tvrda
American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Mail Code X-11, 10681 Carnegie Avenue, Cleveland, OH, 44195, USA.
Ashok
A
Agarwal
D005260:Female; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics; D011247:Pregnancy; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000737:chemistry*; D055101:Semen Analysis; D013481:Superoxides / Q000737:chemistry*
D005609:Free Radicals; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D013481:Superoxides
Antioxidants; Male infertility; Oxidative stress; Reactive oxygen species; Semen; Spermatozoa; Superoxide