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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on March 23, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(7):1725-1733; doi:10.1093/humrep/del081
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Homocysteine, glutathione and related thiols affect fertility parameters in the (sub)fertile couple

I.M.W. Ebisch 1 , 2 , 3 , W.H.M. Peters 4 , C.M.G. Thomas 3 , A.M.M. Wetzels 1 , P.G.M. Peer 2 and R.P.M. Steegers-Theunissen 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9

1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology 2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics 3 Department of Chemical Endocrinology 4 Department of Gastroenterology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center, Nijmegen 5 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics 7 Department of Pediatrics/Division of Pediatric Cardiology and 8 Department of Clinical Genetics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

9 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, PO Box 2040, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: r.steegers{at}erasmusmc.nl

BACKGROUND: Thiols are scavengers of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We aim to investigate associations between thiols in various fluids in (sub)fertile couples and fertility outcome parameters. METHODS: In 156 couples undergoing assisted reproduction techniques (ART), we measured the concentrations of glutathione (GSH), cysteine (Cys), homocysteine (Hcy) and cysteinylglycine (CGS) and fertility outcome parameters in the ejaculate, purified spermatozoa and follicular fluid. RESULTS: All thiols were detectable in most ejaculates, spermatozoa and follicular fluids, of which Cys concentrations were highest. Thiol concentrations in the ejaculate were similar in fertile and subfertile men. However, Hcy in follicular fluid was higher in women with endometriosis compared with women in the idiopathic subfertile group (P = 0.04). The GSH, Cys, Hcy and CGS concentrations in spermatozoa of subfertile men were significantly higher compared with men in the idiopathic subfertile group and fertile men (P < 0.001). Most notably, Hcy concentrations in both the ejaculate and follicular fluid were negatively associated with embryo quality on culture day 3 in the IVF/ICSI procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Spermatozoa of subfertile men contain significantly higher thiol concentrations as compared with those of fertile men. The detrimental effect on embryo quality of a high Hcy concentration in the ejaculate and in follicular fluid is intriguing and may suggest that Hcy is inversely associated with fertility outcome.

Key words: assisted reproduction/fertility outcome parameters/semen parameters/thiols


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