Search

Despite that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has been controlled, it has affected a large proportion of the population, raising some concerns about potential sequelae in men at reproductive age. To contribute to the clarification of this issue, we performed a retrospective study comparing semen parameters values before and after confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in a large cohort of infertile men, compared to a control group that did not undergo SARS-CoV-2 infection. Wilcoxon test on paired samples and general linear regression model showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection has a detrimental effect on semen volume values (p < 0.005). However, semen volume seems to be significantly lower only during the first spermatogenic cycle after SARS-COV-2 infection (p < 0.005) and mainly in unvaccinated patients (p < 0.05). In addition, we detected alterations in progressive motility in patients infected with the alpha SARS-COV-2 strain (p < 0.05). In conclusion, our results show that although SARS-CoV-2 has a small effect on semen volume and sperm motility in infertile men, depending on the infectious strain or vaccination status, pre-infection values of semen parameters appear to be restored over one spermatogenic cycle after infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between premature ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI) and premutation in the FMR1 gene is well established. In recent years, though, a potential relationship between the latter and a low ovarian reserve has been suggested. To explore it, we conducted a retrospective study in an IVF program at a university tertiary referral center in Barcelona (Spain). Data were obtained retrospectively from a total of 385 women referred for FMR1 gene testing at our institution from January 2018 to December 2021. We compared the prevalence of FMR1 gene premutation between 93 of them, younger than 35 years, with a diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), characterized by levels of anti-Mullerian hormone < 1.1 ng/mL and antral follicle count < 5; and 132 egg donors screened by protocol that served as the controls. We found a higher prevalence of FMR1 premutation in the DOR group (seven patients (7.69%)) than in the control group (one patient (1.32%)), Fisher-exact test p-value = 0.012). We concluded that compared with the general population represented by young egg donors, the prevalence of FMR1 gene premutation is higher in young patients with a diminished ovarian reserve. Although these findings warrant further prospective validation in a larger cohort of patients within DOR, they suggest that, in clinical practice, FMR1 premutation should be determined in infertile young patients with DOR in order to give them adequate genetic counselling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that alterations in the expression of the major sperm nuclear proteins (protamines) are related to infertility in man. In addition, other minor proteins extracted from human spermatozoa are being analysed by 2-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) and identified by MALDI-TOF MS analysis. The function of the identified proteins turns out to be energy production, transcription, protein synthesis, transport, folding and turnover, cell cycle, apoptosis and oxidative stress, signal transduction, cytoskeleton, flagella and cell movement, cell recognition, metabolism and unknown function. Many of the proteins identified using MALDI-TOF had not been yet been described as being expressed in human spermatozoa. Substantial differences have been detected in the levels of some of the newly identified human sperm proteins in the different groups of infertile patients. Present research efforts are targeting the potential correlations among changes in the proteomic composition, protamine content, DNA integrity and assisted reproduction outcome.