Role of Antioxidants to OvercomeSperm DNA Fragmentation

Sperm oxidative stress and DNA damage affectmale fertility .The etiology of sperm DNAdamage is multi-factorial and may be due toprimary testicular, secondary (e.g. environmental)factors or be the result of aberrant protamineexpression, excessive ROS (reactive oxygenspecies) generation and abortive apoptosis duringspermatogenesis. Seminal fluid is a source ofantioxidants and protects spermatozoa fromoxidative injury; However, sperm cells have littlecytoplasmic fluid and little antioxidant capacity.Studies have evaluated the relationship betweensemen antioxidant levels and sperm DNA damageand have reported conflicting results. Evidencesshowed that infertile men possess more spermDNA fragmentation than do fertile men.Therefore, it is important to identify strategies thatreduce sperm DNA damage. Several in-vivo andin-vitro studies demonstrated that antioxidants(e.g. vitamins C and E, catalase, glutathione)either individually or in combination havepositive effects on rate of sperm DNA integrityand fertility potential. Reported that Vitamin E, Cand N-acetyl-L-cysteinen could reduce ROSconcentration and improved DNA damege rates.Moreover, the positive effects of combinationzinc, selenium and L-Carnitine on sperm motilityand DNA integrity have been documented. Moststudies are small in size and differ in the targetpopulation selected as well as the type, dose andduration of antioxidant therapy, and themechanism of action of antioxidants has not beenestablished. Large doses of antioxidants can be asrisks of depleting the essential physiologicallevels of ROS and could reduce the interchaindisulphide bridges in protamines and promotingDNA decondensation in spermatozoa.

کلیدواژه ها:

Antioxidant ، DNA Fragmentation ، Sperm