Find in Library

Oxidative stress and inflammation are cooperative events involved in male reproductive dysfunction. In the present study, we assessed the associations between the spermatozoa motility, inflammatory factors (C-reactive protein and Interleukin-6), total antioxidant status (TAS) and lipid peroxidation expressed as malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in the seminal plasma of breeding bulls. 17 semen samples were included in the study. Computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) system was used to assess the spermatozoa motion characteristics, and seminal plasma was collected for further analyses. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was quantified using ELISA, while C-reactive protein (CRP) and markers of the oxidative balance were evaluated by UV/VIS spectrophotometry. The correlation analysis revealed significantly positive associations between the sperm motility and TAS (P<0.05), while both parameters were in significantly negative correlations with CRP (P<0.05), IL-6 (P<0.05) and MDA (P<0.01). At the same time, the samples were divided according to the motility characteristics into groups of Excellent (Ex) and Moderate (Mo) quality. CRP, IL-6 as well as MDA concentrations were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the Mo group, while the Ex group exhibited a significantly higher antioxidant capacity (P<0.05).  The relationships between the oxidative balance and inflammatory markers detected in our study suggest their intricate involvement in the resulting semen quality.