Research Group of Intracellular Signaling and Technology of Reproduction (SINTREP), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Genetics, Instituto de Investigación INBIO G+C, Universidad de Extremadura, 10003, Cáceres, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2022 Jul 29;12(1):13082. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-17023-3.
The scarce research about the worldwide used glyphosate-based herbicide Roundup is controversial in human reproduction, especially spermatozoa. This study investigates the in vitro effect in human spermatozoa of Roundup Ultra Plus (RUP), its active ingredient glyphosate and its non-active, surfactant. Human spermatozoa were incubated (1 h, 37 °C) in presence/absence of RUP 0.01%, glyphosate, or equivalent surfactant concentration. Motility and sperm parameters were analyzed by C.A.S.A and flow cytometry, respectively. RUP significantly increases sperm plasma membrane lipid disorganization in a concentration-dependent manner while it decreases plasma membrane integrity. RUP significantly increases the death spermatozoa population after A23187-induced acrosome reaction, without affecting sperm viability, mitochondrial membrane potential, ROS content, acrosome membrane damage, phosphatidylserine exposure, A23187-induced acrosome reaction or GSK3 phosphorylation. RUP also significantly decreases motile and the a + b sperm populations. Interestingly, all sperm effects caused by RUP 0.01% are mimicked by its surfactant POEA at equivalent concentration. However, glyphosate does not affect any sperm parameter, even using 10-times higher concentration than the RUP 0.01% equivalent. RUP disturbs lipid organization and integrity of human sperm plasma membrane and reduces motility, without affecting viability or functional parameters. Importantly, RUP adverse effects in human spermatozoa are caused by the surfactant and no by glyphosate.
关于全球广泛使用的草甘膦除草剂“农达”（Roundup）在人类生殖方面的研究甚少，其结果颇具争议，尤其是对精子的影响。本研究旨在调查“农达”超浓缩配方（RUP）、其活性成分草甘膦及其非活性表面活性剂对人类精子的体外影响。将人类精子在含有/不含有 RUP（浓度为 0.01%）、草甘膦或同等表面活性剂浓度的条件下，在 37°C 孵育 1 小时。通过 CASA 和流式细胞术分别分析精子的运动能力和参数。结果表明，RUP 可浓度依赖性地增加精子质膜脂质的无序性，同时降低质膜的完整性。RUP 可显著增加 A23187 诱导顶体反应后的死亡精子数量，而不影响精子的活力、线粒体膜电位、ROS 含量、顶体膜损伤、磷脂酰丝氨酸暴露、A23187 诱导的顶体反应或 GSK3 磷酸化。RUP 还显著降低了运动精子和 a+b 精子的比例。有趣的是，RUP 0.01%引起的所有精子效应都可被等浓度的表面活性剂 POEA 模拟。然而，即使使用 10 倍于 RUP 0.01%等效浓度的草甘膦，也不会影响任何精子参数。RUP 会破坏人类精子质膜的脂质组织和完整性，并降低精子的运动能力，而不影响活力或功能参数。重要的是，RUP 对人类精子的不良影响是由表面活性剂引起的，而不是草甘膦。
