THE CHANGES IN SEMEN LYMPHOCYTE SUBPOPULATION’S RATIO IN MEN INFERTILITY

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of present study was to investigate the ratios of semen lymphocyte subpopulations in males with infertility. Twenty-six men (20 to 45 years old) suffering from different genital diseases (chronic prostatitis, idiopathic varicocoele, testicular atrophy) were enrolled into the study. Six healthy age-matched normozoospermic male volunteers with normal fertility comprised a control group. Lymphocyte phenotyping was performed by flow cytometric technique. The patients with pathospermia showed increased numbers of CD25+ lymphocytes (p < 0.05), and unchanged levels of CD95+ cells, thus leading to increased CD25+/CD95+ ratio. In the patients with normozoospermia, the value of this index was 0.94±0.18. Increase of this parameter to > 1.2, as well as its reduction to < 0.7 was associated with sterility. We suggest that suppressed apoptosis of activated lymphocytes in semen may be potentially dangerous to spermatogenesis, since both immune response and associated inflammatory reactions can cause nonspecific lesions of surrounding tissues, and induction of pathospermia.

Keywords

• lymphocytes activation
• lymphocytes apoptosis
• males with infertility
• semen
• flow cytometry