Abstract
Purpose
Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an important component of antioxidative defense systems and plays an important role in protecting spermatozoa from oxidative damage. In this study, we assessed seminal SOD activity, its association with semen parameters, and also genetic and non-genetic factors contributing to the determination of SOD activity in infertile men.
Methods
Semen samples were obtained from 435 male infertility patients. Sperm DNA damage levels were detected with the Tdt-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in SOD2 and SOD3 genes were genotyped using OpenArray platform.
Results
We found that seminal SOD activity was positively associated with sperm concentration and overall motility, whereas inversely with sperm DNA fragmentation. In addition, infertile men with SOD2 rs4880 CC variants showed a low level of SOD activity when compared with TT carriers (Mean ± SD: 268.3 ± 102.3 and 342.8 ± 98.2, respectively, P = 0.005). Those who consumed vitamin C/E (≥3 times per week) had a significantly higher SOD activity level than those who did not (mean ± SD: 379.8 ± 93.3 and 332.2 ± 94.9, respectively, P = 0.001).
Conclusions
Seminal SOD activity and other factors influencing SOD activity play a role in determining sperm fertilization potential and male infertility.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sharma RK, Agarwal A. Role of reactive oxygen species in male infertility. Urology. 1996;48(6):835–50.
Agarwal A, Saleh RA, Bedaiwy MA. Role of reactive oxygen species in the pathophysiology of human reproduction. Fertil Steril. 2003;79(4):829–43.
de Lamirande E, Gagnon C. Human sperm hyperactivation and capacitation as parts of an oxidative process. Free Radic Biol Med. 1993;14(2):157–66.
Kukucka MA, Misra HP. The antioxidant defense system of isolated guinea Pig Leydig cells. Mol Cell Biochem. 1993;126(1):1–7.
Mruk DD, Cheng CY. In vitro regulation of extracellular superoxide dismutase in sertoli cells. Life Sci. 2000;67(2):133–45.
Murawski M, Saczko J, Marcinkowska A, Chwilkowska A, Grybos M, Banas T. Evaluation of superoxide dismutase activity and its impact on semen quality parameters of infertile men. Folia Histochem Cytobiol. 2007;45 Suppl 1:S123–6.
Shamsi MB, Venkatesh S, Kumar R, Gupta NP, Malhotra N, Singh N, et al. Antioxidant levels in blood and seminal plasma and their impact on sperm parameters in infertile men. Indian J Biochem Biophys. 2010;47(1):38–43.
Hsieh YY, Sun YL, Chang CC, Lee YS, Tsai HD, Lin CS. Superoxide dismutase activities of spermatozoa and seminal plasma are not correlated with male infertility. J Clin Lab Anal. 2002;16(3):127–31. doi:10.1002/jcla.10029.
Lu JC, Huang YF, Lu NQ. WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen: its applicability to andrology laboratories in China. Zhonghua Nan Ke Xue. 2010;16(10):867–71.
Ji G, Yan L, Liu W, Huang C, Gu A, Wang X. Polymorphisms in double-strand breaks repair genes are associated with impaired fertility in Chinese population. Reproduction. 2013;145(5):463–70. doi:10.1530/REP-12-0370.
Fridovich I. Superoxide radical and superoxide dismutases. Annu Rev Biochem. 1995;64:97–112. doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.64.070195.000525.
Sutton A, Khoury H, Prip-Buus C, Cepanec C, Pessayre D, Degoul F. The Ala16Val genetic dimorphism modulates the import of human manganese superoxide dismutase into rat liver mitochondria. Pharmacogenetics. 2003;13(3):145–57. doi:10.1097/01.fpc.0000054067.64000.8f.
Ji G, Gu A, Wang Y, Huang C, Hu F, Zhou Y, et al. Genetic variants in antioxidant genes are associated with sperm DNA damage and risk of male infertility in a Chinese population. Free Radic Biol Med. 2012;52(4):775–80. doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2011.11.032.
Garg MC, Bansal DD. Protective antioxidant effect of vitamins C and E in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats. Indian J Exp Biol. 2000;38(2):101–4.
Zhang JG, Nicholls-Grzemski FA, Tirmenstein MA, Fariss MW. Vitamin E succinate protects hepatocytes against the toxic effect of reactive oxygen species generated at mitochondrial complexes i and iii by alkylating agents. Chem Biol Interact. 2001;138(3):267–84.
Jiao J, Meng N, Zhang L. The effects of vitamins C and B12 on human nasal ciliary beat frequency. BMC Complement Alternat Med. 2013;13:110. doi:10.1186/1472-6882-13-110.
Ross C, Morriss A, Khairy M, Khalaf Y, Braude P, Coomarasamy A, et al. A systematic review of the effect of oral antioxidants on male infertility. Reprod BioMed Online. 2010;20(6):711–23. doi:10.1016/j.rbmo.2010.03.008.
Vine MF, Tse CK, Hu P, Truong KY. Cigarette smoking and semen quality. Fertil Steril. 1996;65(4):835–42.
Saleh RA, Agarwal A, Sharma RK, Nelson DR, Thomas Jr AJ. Effect of cigarette smoking on levels of seminal oxidative stress in infertile men: a prospective study. Fertil Steril. 2002;78(3):491–9.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.81202243, Grant No.81172694 and Grant No.30901210); the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2012087). A project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD). We thank Dr. C. Chen for statistical analysis.
Conflict of interest
No competing financial interests exist.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Capsule
SOD activity was found to be associated with semen quality and in individuals consuming vitamins C and E, a significantly higher expression level of SOD was observed.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yan, L., Liu, J., Wu, S. et al. Seminal superoxide dismutase activity and its relationship with semen quality and SOD gene polymorphism. J Assist Reprod Genet 31, 549–554 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-014-0215-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-014-0215-2