Fertilys Fertility Center, Laval, Quebec, Canada.
Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CRCHUM), CHUM Research Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Reprod Fertil. 2022 Mar 18;3(2):67-76. doi: 10.1530/RAF-21-0005. eCollection 2022 Apr 1.
Male Infertility Oxidative System (MiOXSYS) has been proposed as a rapid and promising technology for the evaluation of sperm oxidative stress. In this case-control study, 134 men with normal sperm parameters (NSP) and 574 men with abnormal sperm parameters (ASP), according to the World Health Organization sperm assessment references values established in 2010, were enrolled. Conventional sperm parameters were evaluated in all patients. Sperm static oxido-reduction potential (sORP) was assessed using the MiOXSYS. Sperm DNA integrity was measured in 604 patients. To ensure that sperm concentration was not a confounding factor in the sORP index ratio, sperm and seminal fluid sORP from 57 randomly selected additional patients were also measured using the MiOXSYS. sORP index (mV/10 sperm/mL) was higher in patients with ASP and seemed to correlate with conventional sperm parameters. Although receiver-operating characteristic analysis revealed that a sORP index cut-off of 0.79 could differentiate normal from ASP with 57.7% sensitivity and 73.1% specificity, these values are much lower than those found in the literature. These values also need to be higher to be applicable in a clinical setting. Furthermore, absolute sORP (mV) was not different in the presence or absence of spermatozoa. sORP index relationships with sperm parameters seem rather be due to sperm concentration, denominator of the sORP index ratio. The establishment of a reliable method using the absolute sORP value, independent of sperm concentration, needs to be addressed. Other oxidative stress biomarkers could be used to validate this method.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized that oxidative stress may have a role in male infertility. Oxidative stress happens when there is an imbalance between the production of molecules containing oxygen and the antioxidants, molecules that neutralize the molecules containing oxygen. The molecules containing oxygen can cause damage to sperm DNA. This damage can be measured using a particular index and this study looked at whether the concentration of the sperm sample might have an impact on results and suggests this should be taken into consideration by clinicians and researchers.
男性不育氧化系统（MiOXSYS）已被提议作为评估精子氧化应激的一种快速而有前途的技术。在这项病例对照研究中，根据世界卫生组织 2010 年建立的精子评估参考值，纳入了 134 名精子参数正常（NSP）的男性和 574 名精子参数异常（ASP）的男性。所有患者均评估了常规精子参数。使用 MiOXSYS 评估精子静态氧化还原电位（sORP）。在 604 名患者中测量了精子 DNA 完整性。为了确保精子浓度不是 sORP 指数比值的混杂因素，还使用 MiOXSYS 测量了 57 名额外随机选择的患者的精子和精液 sORP。ASP 患者的 sORP 指数（mV/10 精子/mL）较高，似乎与常规精子参数相关。尽管接收者操作特征分析显示，sORP 指数截断值为 0.79 可将正常与 ASP 区分开，其灵敏度为 57.7%，特异性为 73.1%，但这些值远低于文献中发现的值。这些值要在临床环境中应用，还需要更高。此外，在有或没有精子的情况下，绝对 sORP（mV）没有差异。sORP 指数与精子参数的关系似乎更多地归因于精子浓度，即 sORP 指数比值的分母。需要建立一种使用独立于精子浓度的绝对 sORP 值的可靠方法。可以使用其他氧化应激生物标志物来验证该方法。
世界卫生组织（WHO）已经认识到氧化应激可能在男性不育中起作用。氧化应激发生在含氧分子和抗氧化剂之间的平衡被打破时，抗氧化剂是中和含氧分子的分子。含氧分子会导致精子 DNA 损伤。可以使用特定指数测量这种损伤，本研究探讨了精子样本浓度是否会对结果产生影响，并建议临床医生和研究人员应考虑这一点。
