Association Between Oxidative Stress Markers and Antisperm Antibodies in Women with Secondary Infertility

Oxidative stress and immunological factors largely participate in the pathogenesis of secondary infertility through disruption of reproductive homeostasis. This case-control study was performed to assess markers of oxidative stress together with antisperm antibodies (ASA) among women who were suffering from secondary infertility. It included a total of 130 women, where 88 patients were diagnosed to suffer from secondary infertility, between the age group of 20-38 years; the healthy controls comprised 42 comparable subjects. Early follicular phase morning fasting blood samples were collected for calculation estimation of serum malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ASA by ELISA. Mean values for ASA and MDA in infertile women were significantly higher than those found in controls: 32.4 ±9.8 IU/ml and 4.9 ±1.1 nmol/ml compared to the control group at levels of 12.8±6.5 IU/ml, and 2.6±0.9 nmol/ml respectively; p<0.01). On the other hand, GSH (3.1±0.7 μmol/ml against 5.2±1.1 μmol/ml) and SOD (115..6±18..4 U/ml against 162..3±22..7 U/ml) was significantly low in the group that had been identified as infertile, p<0...01 Per Pearson’s correlation analysis, a high positive correlation existed between ASA and MDA (r = 0.62, p < 0.01), while significant negative correlations were found between ASA and GSH (r = -0.48, p < 0.01) as well as ASA and SOD (r = -0.55, p < 0.01). Results of this study demonstrate that oxidative stress and antisperm antibodies may work in combination or synergistically on the pathology of secondary infertility, emphasizing an approach to the diagnosis and treatment of infertility that considers their possible interactive effect.