Role of Oxidative Stress in Male Fertility and Idiopathic Infertility: Causes and Treatment

Role of Oxidative Stress in Male Fertility and Idiopathic Infertility: Causes and Treatment

Epidemiological studies regarding male infertility have revealed that more and more infertile men suffer from acute or chronic inflammation of the genitourinary tract, which often occurs without any symptoms. The exact mechanism for unexplained male infertility and its correlation to oxidative stress incidence and/ or the inflammatory reactions within the male genital tract is still controversially unclear till know. Previous studies have shown the presence of cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a key player in the inflammation process, in the semen of infertile men. However, the mechanism of their effect on human sperm functions is still in need for further under investigations. We expect that, seminal inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α) and its expression regulator, testicular ADAM 17, will be varied, when seminal OS is established, that in turn, will vary cellular integrity and energy status. As conventional treatment of male infertility such as mineral and vitamins supplementation has poor success rates and leaves a lot to be desired, natural antioxidant ingredients are greatly suggested, nowadays, to ameliorate oxidative stress and the inflammatory detrimental effects accompanied to idiopathic male infertility. Thus, the empirical investigations of naturally occurring antioxidant modulators with prospective curative effect may support their administration as safe potent natural remedies against IMI. The role of antioxidants in the treatment of unexplained male infertility correlation to ROS and/or the inflammatory cytokines are discussed in this review.