Ejaculatory Abstinence Affects the Sperm Quality in Normozoospermic Men-How Does the Seminal Bacteriome Respond?
Eva TvrdáMichal ĎuračkaFilip BenkoAnton KováčikDaniel LovíšekEliška GálováJana ŽiarovskáMarianna SchwarzováMiroslava KacaniovaPublished in: International journal of molecular sciences (2023)
This study was designed to describe bacterial profiles of ejaculates collected following a long and short ejaculatory abstinence set in the context of changes in the conventional, oxidative, and immunological characteristics of semen. Two specimens were collected in succession from normozoospermic men ( n = 51) following 2 days and 2 h, respectively. Semen samples were processed and analyzed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 guidelines. Afterwards, sperm DNA fragmentation, mitochondrial function, levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), total antioxidant capacity, and oxidative damage to sperm lipids and proteins were evaluated in each specimen. Selected cytokine levels were quantified using the ELISA method. Bacterial identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry revealed that samples collected following two days of abstinence presented with a higher bacterial load and diversity, and a greater prevalence of potentially uropathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis . Only staphylococci and Escherichia coli remained present in specimens obtained after 2 h of abstinence. Whilst all samples accomplished the criteria set by WHO, a significantly higher motility ( p < 0.05), membrane integrity ( p < 0.05), mitochondrial membrane potential ( p < 0.05), and DNA integrity ( p < 0.0001) were detected following 2 h of ejaculatory abstinence. On the other hand, significantly higher ROS levels ( p < 0.001), protein oxidation ( p < 0.001), and lipid peroxidation ( p < 0.01) accompanied by significantly higher concentrations of tumor necrosis factor alpha ( p < 0.05), interleukin-6 ( p < 0.01), and interferon gamma ( p < 0.05) were observed in specimens collected after two days of abstinence. It may be summarized that shorter ejaculatory abstinence does not compromise sperm quality in normozoospermic men, while it contributes to a decreased occurrence of bacteria in semen which is accompanied by a lower probability of damage to spermatozoa by ROS or pro-inflammatory cytokines.
Keyphrases
- smoking cessation
- escherichia coli
- reactive oxygen species
- mass spectrometry
- biofilm formation
- staphylococcus aureus
- oxidative stress
- dna damage
- cell death
- rheumatoid arthritis
- middle aged
- single molecule
- risk factors
- liquid chromatography
- pseudomonas aeruginosa
- immune response
- quality improvement
- ms ms
- fatty acid
- high performance liquid chromatography
- nitric oxide
- hydrogen peroxide
- high resolution
- amino acid
- climate change
- clinical practice
- circulating tumor cells