Sperm DNA damage and oxidative stress. Research conducted at Instituto Bernabeu and presented at the American Fertility Conference (ASRM)

At the ASRM meeting of American reproductive medicine specialists that took place this month in Boston, our group presented a R&D project that evaluated the possible effect of oxidative stress on sperm DNA.

Oxidative stress is caused by oxidizing substances, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) that are generated in the sperm metabolism. ROS affect male fertility due to the fact that some sperm cells have oxidative damage and subsequent loss of function. 

Oxidative damage also affects the cell nucleus and therefore the molecule that contains genetic information, the DNA. ROS react with the DNA, oxidizing and fragmenting its structure, meaning that DNA fragmentation may decrease the fertilizing capacity of the sperm.

The study was conducted in two different parts. The first was based on the measurement of reactive oxygen species with the OxiSperm kit in sperm samples to study the relationship between oxidative stress and sperm DNA fragmentation, with no significant differences observed between these two parameters. Therefore, it follows that the ROS level is not an essential parameter to generate sperm DNA fragmentation. The second part of the study focused on the role played by seminal plasma in generating oxidative stress in the ejaculate. In our study we observed that the seminal plasma has a clear implication on the increased level of oxidative stress.

OXIDATIVE STRESS ASSESSED IN EJACULATE IS NOT RELATED TO SPERM DNA DAMAGE. J. Llácer, J. Ten, R. Bernabeu, A. García-Peiró, M.C. Díaz and J. Gosálbez