Production of reactive oxygen species by and hydrogen peroxide scavenging activity of spermatozoa in an IVF program.

Purpose: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) including H2O2 produced by spermatozoa have been suggested, on one hand, to be associated with idiopathic male infertility and, on the other hand, to stimulate certain sperm function leading to fertilization. The influence of ROS on fertilization was investigated in 75 IVF patients by correlating fertilization rates with the production of ROS and the H2O2-scavenging activity of swim-up spermatozoa prepared in parallel with the IVF samples.

Results: Low rates of ROS production by the swim-up sperm was detected by the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay. They were not correlated with fertilization rates. The hydrogen peroxide scavenging capacity of these spermatozoa, measured as the removal of exogenous H2O2 assayed spectrophotometrically, decreased stepwise in groups of patients achieving higher fertilization rates, suggesting a positive effect of this ROS on fertilization. An alternative explanation of this correlation is plausible in view of the association of both high scavenging activities and poor fertilization rates with poor sperm morphology.

Conclusions: ROS produced by spermatozoa selected by swim-up plays no negative, if not a positive, role in fertilization.