Roles of reactive oxygen species and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme X in changes of sperm mitochondrial membrane in patients with varicocele-induced infertility
ZHANG Xiao-xia
LI Ru-yao
YU Liang-liang
ZHOU Jun
Abstract：Objective:To explore the role of reactive oxygen species(ROS)and lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme X(LDH-X)in the changes of sperm mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP)in infertility patients with varicocele(VC).Methods:This study included 38 infertility patients with VC(VCinf),35 non-VC infertile males(NVCinf),and 30 normal fertile men as controls.We obtained the routine semen parameters using the sperm quality analysis system,examined the contents of LDH-X in the seminal plasma and sperm with the automatic biochemical analyzer,measured the level of malondialdehyde(MDA)in seminal plasma by thio-barbituric acid(TBA)colorimetry,and determined the expressions of mitochondrial membrane potential(MMP)and LDH-X mRNA in the sperm using JC-1 fluorescence probe and RT-PCR.Results:No statistically significant differences were observed among the three groups of subjects in age,semen pH value,semen volume and sperm concentration(P＞0.05).Compared with the normal fer-tile controls,the patients in the VCinf and NVCinf groups showed significantly decreased sperm motility([52.36±12.48]％vs[34.74±15.23]％vs[25.76±13.73]％,P＜0.05),percentage of progressively motile sperm(PMS)([42.54±13.58]％vs[29.10±14.17]％vs[20.95±12.33]％,P＜0.05),sperm LDH-X([16.46±5.47]vs[13.63±4.50]vs[10.18±3.00]mU/106,P＜0.05),sperm MMP([48.04±11.62]％vs[40.86±12.69]％vs[34.41±13.93]％,P＜0.05)and expression of sperm LDH-X mRNA(P＜0.05).but increased seminal plasma LDH-X([935.36±229.48]vs[1241.05±337.07]vs[1425.08±469.35]U/L,P＜0.05),seminal plasma/whole sperm LDH-X([1.06±0.35]vs[1.40±0.34]vs[1.63±0.66],P＜0.05),and content of seminal plasma MDA([1.10±0.19]vs[1.59±0.27]vs[2.00±0.22]nmol/ml,P＜0.05).Conclusion:Excessive ROS in the reproductive system of VCinf patients reduces the content of MMP and causes the overflow of LDH-X out of sperm cells.Therefore the decrease of sperm LDH-X may be accompanied by that of MMP.
Keywords：varicocele-induced infertilityreactive oxygen specieslactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme Xsperm mitochondrial membrane potential
Publication Date：2025-01-19
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 19-24 )