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Quantitative study of caspase-3 activity in semen and after swim-up preparation in relation to sperm quality

2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 20; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1093/humrep/deh727

1460-2350

Carolina Almeida, Margarida Fonseca Cardoso, Mário Sousa, Paulo Viana, Ana Clara Gonçalves, Joaquina Silva, Alberto Barros,

Cell death mechanisms and regulation

There are no studies relating the apoptotic marker caspase-3 in human sperm to different degrees of abnormal sperm concentration, morphology and rapid progressive motility.Semen from 67 males with abnormal semen analyses (n = 61) and normozoospermia (n = 6) were used. In each case, sperm from the neat semen (semen fraction) and after gradient centrifugation and swim-up (swim-up fraction) were incubated with a caspase-3 profluorogenic substrate. Caspase-3 activity was quantified in 119 850 sperm, 67 488 from semen and 52 362 from swim-up fractions. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratio (with 99% confidence intervals) for the presence of caspase-3-positive sperm.In semen fractions, no relationship was found between abnormal semen analysis subgroups and sperm caspase-3 activity. On the contrary, a significantly increased number of sperm with caspase-3 activity was found in the swim-up fractions from samples with poor sperm morphology. When analysis was restricted to single semen analysis defects, a significant increase of caspase-3-positive sperm was found in the semen fractions of cases with asthenozoospermia, and in the swim-up fractions of cases with teratozoospermia.Sperm caspase-3 activity seems to be associated with teratozoospermia and asthenozoospermia, thus suggesting that nuclear, mitochondrial and cytoskeletal abnormalities induce caspase-3 activation during spermiogenesis or sperm maturation.