The World Journal of Men's Health (Apr 2022)
Relevance of Leukocytospermia and Semen Culture and Its True Place in Diagnosing and Treating Male Infertility
- Rakesh Sharma,
- Sajal Gupta,
- Ashok Agarwal,
- Ralf Henkel,
- Renata Finelli,
- Neel Parekh,
- Ramadan Saleh,
- Mohamed Arafa,
- Edmund Ko,
- Armand Zini,
- Nicholas Tadros,
- Rupin Shah,
- Rafael F. Ambar,
- Haitham Elbardisi,
- Pallav Sengupta,
- Marlon Martinez,
- Florence Boitrelle,
- Mara Simopoulou,
- Paraskevi Vogiatzi,
- Jaime Gosalvez,
- Parviz Kavoussi,
- Hussein Kandil,
- Ayad Palani,
- Marcelo Rodriguez Peña,
- Osvaldo Rajmil,
- Gian Maria Busetto,
- Christina Anagnostopoulou,
- Sava Micic,
- Marco G. Alves,
- Lucia Rocco,
- Taymour Mostafa,
- Juan G. Alvarez,
- Sunil Jindal,
- Hassan N. Sallam,
- Israel Maldonado Rosas,
- Sheena E.M. Lewis,
- Sami AlSaid,
- Mesut Altan,
- Hyun Jun Park,
- Jonathan Ramsay,
- Sijo Parekattil,
- Marjan Sabbaghian,
- Kelton Tremellen,
- Kareim Khalafalla,
- Damayanthi Durairajanayagam,
- Giovanni M. Colpi
Affiliations
- Rakesh Sharma
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Sajal Gupta
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Ashok Agarwal
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Ralf Henkel
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Renata Finelli
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Neel Parekh
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Ramadan Saleh
- ORCiD
- University, Sohag, Egypt
- Mohamed Arafa
- ORCiD
- Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA
- Edmund Ko
- ORCiD
- Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA, USA
- Armand Zini
- ORCiD
- McGill University, Montreal, Canada
- Nicholas Tadros
- ORCiD
- Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, IL, USA
- Rupin Shah
- ORCiD
- Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, India
- Rafael F. Ambar
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology, Centro Universitario em Saude do ABC/Andrology Group at Ideia Fertil Institute of Human Reproduction, Santo André, Brazil
- Haitham Elbardisi
- ORCiD
- Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Pallav Sengupta
- ORCiD
- MAHSA University, Jenjarom, Selangor, Malaysia
- Marlon Martinez
- ORCiD
- University of Santo Tomas Hospital, Manila, Philippines
- Florence Boitrelle
- ORCiD
- Poissy Hospital, Poissy
- Mara Simopoulou
- ORCiD
- National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Maroussi, Athens, Greece
- Paraskevi Vogiatzi
- ORCiD
- Andromed Health & Reproduction, Fertility Diagnostics Laboratory, Maroussi, Greece
- Jaime Gosalvez
- ORCiD
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Parviz Kavoussi
- ORCiD
- University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
- Hussein Kandil
- ORCiD
- Fakih IVF Fertility Center, Abu Dhabi, UAE
- Ayad Palani
- ORCiD
- University of Garmian, Kalar, Iraq
- Marcelo Rodriguez Peña
- ORCiD
- Hospital Militar Campo de Mayo, Universidad Barcelo, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Osvaldo Rajmil
- ORCiD
- Clinical and training Centre of the European Academy of Andrology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
- Gian Maria Busetto
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, University of Foggia Policlinico Riuniti of Foggia, Foggia, Italy
- Christina Anagnostopoulou
- ORCiD
- IVF Clinic “Akeso-Embryo ART”, Athens, Greece
- Sava Micic
- ORCiD
- Department of Andrology, Uromedica Polyclinic, Belgrade, Serbia
- Marco G. Alves
- ORCiD
- Department of Anatomy & Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
- Lucia Rocco
- ORCiD
- University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Caserta, Italy
- Taymour Mostafa
- ORCiD
- Department of Andrology, Sexology & STIs, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
- Juan G. Alvarez
- ORCiD
- Centro ANDROGEN, La Coruña, Spain
- Sunil Jindal
- ORCiD
- Department of Andrology and Reproductive Medicine, Jindal Hospital, Meerut, India
- Hassan N. Sallam
- ORCiD
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Alexandria University Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria, Egypt
- Israel Maldonado Rosas
- ORCiD
- Centerf Technological Innovation, and Reproductive Medicine (CITMER), Mexico City, Mexico
- Sheena E.M. Lewis
- ORCiD
- Examenlab Ltd., Weavers Court Business Park, Linfield Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
- Sami AlSaid
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Mesut Altan
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology, Haceppete University, Ankara, Turkey
- Hyun Jun Park
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea
- Jonathan Ramsay
- ORCiD
- Department of Andrology, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
- Sijo Parekattil
- ORCiD
- Avant Concierge Urology & University of Central Florida, Winter Garden, FL, USA
- Marjan Sabbaghian
- ORCiD
- Department of Andrology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
- Kelton Tremellen
- ORCiD
- Department of Obstetrics Gynaecology and Reproductive Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia
- Kareim Khalafalla
- ORCiD
- Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar
- Damayanthi Durairajanayagam
- ORCiD
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Sungai Buloh Campus, Selangor, Malaysia
- Giovanni M. Colpi
- ORCiD
- Andrology and IVF Unit, Procrea Institute, Lugano, Switzerland
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5534/wjmh.210063
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 40,
no. 2
pp. 191 – 207
Abstract
The current WHO 2010 manual for human semen analysis defines leukocytospermia as the presence of peroxidase-positive leukocytes at a concentration >1×106/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.
Keywords
