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Nicotinic infertility: assessing DNA and plasma membrane integrity of human spermatozoa
Author(s) -
Arabi M.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
andrologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1439-0272
pISSN - 0303-4569
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0272.2004.00623.x
Subject(s) - sperm , andrology , nicotine , comet assay , chemistry , dna fragmentation , dna damage , tbars , lipid peroxidation , biochemistry , dna , medicine , oxidative stress , programmed cell death , apoptosis
Summary. Infertility remains a major problem in society, with recent data suggesting its presence in one of four couples. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the impact of nicotine (0.25, 0.5 and 0.75 m m ), as a major component of cigarette smoke, in vitro , on sperm membrane [by spermatocrit and lipoperoxidation (LPO) tests], DNA integrity (by Comet assay), and viability of spermatozoa (by eosin staining) from normozoospermic men. Sperm samples were washed and diluted with phosphate‐buffered saline. A drop in spermatocrit values and an increase in thiobarbituric acid‐reactive substances/LPO rate was observed with the addition of nicotine, predominantly at a concentration of 0.75 m m , indicating a deleterious effect of nicotine on sperm membrane intactness. There was also a strong negative correlation between LPO rate and percentage viable sperm cell ( r = −0.990). Data obtained from Comet assay technique revealed that nicotine could induce double‐stranded DNA breaks (11% in 0.75 m m concentration) in the sperm nuclei. The value of r between LPO rate and percentage Comets was found to be +0.976. Taken together, nicotine proved to be a potential oxidant agent in the category of environmental factors to the integrity of sperm plasma membrane and DNA.