We measured the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyls, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and reducte glutathione (GSH) in seminal plasma and spermatozoa from 95 subjects including 50 infertile patients to evaluate the association between oxidative stress and damage and the components of the anti-oxidant defenses in seminal plasma and spermatozoa of infertile subjects and concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in the blood and seminal plasma because of tobacco smoke exposure. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) in spermatozoa were also evaluated by luminol (5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione)-enhanced chemiluminescence assay. The sperm count, motility, and morphology in the smokers infertile group were found to be lower than those in the fertile male group and nonsmokers infertile group (p < 0.001). Concentrations of Cd, Pb, MDA, protein carbonyls, and ROS levels in the smokers infertile group were significantly higher than those in the fertile male and nonsmokers infertile male groups (p < 0.001). However, GSH levels and GST activities were decreased in the smokers infertile male group than those in the fertile male and nonsmokers infertile male groups (p < 0.001). The results indicate that smoking could affect semen quality and oxidative lipid and protein damage in human spermatozoa. From Pearson correlation analysis, positive correlations were demonstrated between the seminal plasma Cd and seminal plasma protein carbonyls and between seminal plasma Pb and spermatozoa ROS levels in smokers of the subfertile group, while there was a significant positive correlation between blood Cd and ROS levels in smokers of the fertile group. There was also a significant negative correlation of the Cd level of the blood and GSH levels of the sperm and seminal plasma. These findings suggest that cigarette smoking enhances the levels of Cd and Pb in seminal plasma and blood and the extent of oxidative damage associated with a decrease in components of the anti-oxidant defenses in the sperm of infertile males.

Oxidative stress in the reproductive system is thought to have an effect on the fertilizing ability of sperm. The purpose of this study was to assess the interaction of iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) ions in suspected subfertile and fertile male groups and to find out the relationships of the semen parameters (sperm count, motility, and abnormal morphology), glutathione, malondialdehyde, and reactive oxygen species with these variables. Semen and blood obtained from 60 subfertile men and from 40 fertile volunteers were examined. The sperm count and motility in the subfertile male group were found lower than those in fertile male group (p < 0.001). Cu levels in serum and seminal plasma in the subfertile male group were significantly higher than those in the fertile male group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.05, respectively). There was also a significant increase in the Fe level of seminal plasma in the subfertile male group (p < 0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the Fe level of serum in the subfertile male group. In conclusion, these findings suggest that Cu and Fe might be mediators of the effects of oxidative damage and play an essential role in spermatogenesis and male infertility; the determination of Fe and Cu levels in serum and seminal plasma during infertility investigation is recommended.

Our results suggest that the susceptibility of sperm and seminal plasma to oxidative stress is significantly greater in idiopathic infertile men with the GSTM1 null genotype compared with those possessing the gene. Therefore, in patients with idiopathic infertility, GSTM1 polymorphism might be an important source of variation in susceptibility of spermatozoa to oxidative damage.

On page 104 of the above article, figure 3c should have shown PCNA and LIG1 involved in long patch repair, rather than XRCC1 and LIG3. Part c of the corrected figure is shown below.

Increased oxidative damage has been suggested to play an important role in the viscosity changes of blood. However, changes in levels of oxidative damage products in semen and their relationship to seminal fluid viscosity are unknown. The aim of our study was to investigate whether oxidative damage was associated with seminal plasma viscosity in infertile subjects. The levels of malondialdehyde, and protein carbonyls were measured in sperm and seminal plasma from 102 individuals, including 60 infertile patients. Seminal fluid viscosity and semen viscosity were studied by use of capillary viscometer and glass pipettes, respectively. Significantly higher levels of oxidative stress and damage markers were found in subfertile subjects compared with the control subjects.The seminal fluid viscosities of patients were found to be significantly higher, although all of the control and patient subjects had normal viscoelasticity when semen samples were assessed according to World Health Organization guidelines. From Pearson correlation analysis, there were significant positive correlations between seminal fluid viscosity and seminal malondialdehyde and carbonyl levels in infertile males (r 5 .676, P , .01; r 5 .276, P , .05, respectively). Our results suggest that increased oxidative damage might be a factor for hyperviscosity of seminal plasma in infertile males.