Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, 84156-83111, Iran.
Department of Animal Biotechnology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, 8165131378, Iran.
Reprod Sci. 2023 Dec;30(12):3469-3479. doi: 10.1007/s43032-023-01313-w. Epub 2023 Aug 10.
An imbalance between omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in sperm has been linked with lipid peroxidation and DNA damage in sperm, indicating a possible correlation to fertility potential. This cross-sectional study involved 56 infertile men (aged 25-45), and assessed the relationship between the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in sperm and seminal plasma with sperm DNA fragmentation. Individuals were categorized based on high or low levels of sperm DNA fragmentation according to two tests (TUNEL and SCSA assay less or greater than 10 and 30%, respectively), and their fatty acid composition, as well as sperm functional tests, were analyzed. Results showed that men with high DNA fragmentation exhibited higher percentages of total saturated, monounsaturated, and omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratios in both sperm (P < 0.001) and seminal plasma (P < 0.001) compared to men with low DNA fragmentation. The percentage of sperm lipid peroxidation, and residual histone (P < 0.05) were higher, while the percentage of sperm motility (P < 0.001) was lower in the former compared to the latter group. Moreover, Pearson's correlation revealed positive associations between the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio with sperm lipid peroxidation, DNA fragmentation, and residual histones in both sperm and seminal plasma. Overall, these observations suggest that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids may be related to male fertility potential, as it appears that individuals with a high percentage of omega-3 fatty acids have better sperm quality compared to men with a lower omega-3 fatty acid.
精子中ω-6 与 ω-3 脂肪酸的失衡与精子中的脂质过氧化和 DNA 损伤有关，这表明其与生育能力可能存在相关性。本横断面研究纳入了 56 名不育男性（年龄 25-45 岁），评估了精子和精浆中 ω-6 与 ω-3 脂肪酸比值与精子 DNA 碎片化之间的关系。根据两项测试（TUNEL 和 SCSA 检测分别小于或大于 10%和 30%）将个体分为精子 DNA 碎片化程度高或低的两组，并分析了他们的脂肪酸组成和精子功能测试结果。结果表明，高 DNA 碎片化组的精子和精浆中总饱和脂肪酸、单不饱和脂肪酸和 ω-6 与 ω-3 脂肪酸比值均高于低 DNA 碎片化组（P<0.001）。与低 DNA 碎片化组相比，高 DNA 碎片化组的精子脂质过氧化率和残留组蛋白的百分比更高（P<0.05），而精子活力的百分比更低（P<0.001）。此外，Pearson 相关性分析显示，精子和精浆中 ω-6 与 ω-3 脂肪酸比值与精子脂质过氧化、DNA 碎片化和残留组蛋白呈正相关。总的来说，这些观察结果表明，ω-3 脂肪酸的摄入可能与男性生育能力有关，因为与 ω-3 脂肪酸含量较低的男性相比，ω-3 脂肪酸含量较高的个体精子质量可能更好。
