Open AccessRelevance of Leukocytospermia and Semen Culture and Its True Place in Diagnosing and Treating Male Infertility
Author(s) -
Rakesh Sharma,
Sajal Gupta,
Ashok Agarwal,
Ralf Henkel,
Renata Finelli,
Neel Parekh,
Ramadan Saleh,
Mohamed Arafa,
Edmund Ko,
Armand Zini,
Nicholas N. Tadros,
Rupin Shah,
Rafael F. Ambar,
Haitham Elbardisi,
Pallav Sengupta,
Marlon Martínez,
Florence Boitrelle,
Mara Simopoulou,
Paraskevi Vogiatzi,
Jaime Gosálvez,
Parviz Kavoussi,
Hussein Kandil,
Ayad Palani,
Marcelo Rodríguez Peña,
Osvaldo Rajmil,
Gian Maria Busetto,
Christina Anagnostopoulou,
S. Mićić,
Marco G. Alves,
Lucía Rocco,
Taymour Mostafa,
Juan G. Álvarez,
Sunil Jindal,
Hassan Sallam,
Israel Maldonado Rosas,
Sheena Lewis,
Sami Alsaid,
Mesut Altan,
Hyun Jun Park,
Jonathan Ramsay,
Sıjo J. Parekattıl,
Marjan Sabbaghian,
Kelton Tremellen,
Kareim Khalafalla,
Damayanthi Durairajanayagam,
Giovanni M. Colpi
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the world journal of men's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.711
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 2287-4690
pISSN - 2287-4208
DOI - 10.5534/wjmh.210063
Subject(s) - epididymitis , semen , chlamydia trachomatis , infertility , male infertility , andrology , sperm , semen quality , ureaplasma urealyticum , prostatitis , biology , chlamydia , mycoplasma , medicine , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , prostate , pregnancy , genetics , cancer
The current WHO 2010 manual for human semen analysis defines leukocytospermia as the presence of peroxidase-positive leukocytes at a concentration >1×10 6 /mL of semen. Granular leukocytes when activated are capable of generating high levels of reactive oxygen species in semen resulting in oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been correlated with poor sperm quality, increased level of sperm DNA fragmentation and low fertility potential. The presence of leukocytes and pathogens in the semen may be a sign of infection and/or localized inflammatory response in the male genital tract and the accessory glands. Common uro-pathogens including Chlamydia trachomatis , Ureaplasma urealyticum , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Mycoplasma hominis , and Escherichia coli can cause epididymitis, epididymo-orchitis, or prostatitis. The relationship between leukocytospermia and infection is unclear. Therefore, we describe the pathogens responsible for male genital tract infections and their association with leukocytospermia. The review also examines the diagnostic tests available to identify seminal leukocytes. The role of leukocytospermia in male infertility and its management is also discussed.