A Preliminary Study: N-acetyl-L-cysteine Improves Semen Quality following Varicocelectomy

International Journal of Fertility and Sterility

Marziyeh Tavalaee¹  Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani²  Leila Azadi³  Mohammad Reza Deemeh³  Mahsa Bahreinian³  Foroogh Barekat³  Homayoun Abbasi³  Shahla Rozbahani⁴ 

[1] Department of Biology, Flavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Flavarjan, Isf;Department of Biology, Flavarjan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Flavarjan, Isfahan, Iran;Department of Reproductive Biotechnology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Biotechnology, ACECR, Isfahan, Iran;Isfahan Fertility and Infertility Center, Isfahan, Iran;

关键词: dna fragmentation;    protamines;    oxidative stress;    varicocele;    nac;   

DOI  :  10.22074/ijfs.2016.4777

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background Surgery is considered the primary treatment for male infertility from clinical varicocele. One of the main events associated with varicocele is excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant that scavenges free radicals, is considered a supplement to alleviate glutathione (GSH) depletion during oxidative stress. Despite beneficial effects of NAC in other pathological events, there is no report on the effect of NAC in individuals with varicocele. Therefore, the aim of this study is to evaluate the outcome of NAC on semen quality, protamine content, DNA damage, oxidative stress and fertility following varicocelectomy. Materials and Methods This prospective clinical trial included 35 infertile men with varicocele randomly divided into control (n=20) and NAC (n=15) groups. We assessed semen parameters, protamine content [chromomycin A3 (CMA3)], DNA integrity [terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)] and oxidative stress [2', 7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein-diacetate (DCFH-DA)] before and three months after varicocelectomy. Results Percentage of abnormal semen parameters, protamine deficiency, DNA fragmentation and oxidative stress were significantly decreased in both groups compared to before surgery. We calculated the percentage of improvement in these parameters compared to before surgery for each group, then compared the results between the groups. Only percentage of protamine deficiency and DNA fragmentation significantly differed between the NAC and control groups. Conclusion The results of this study, for the first time, revealed that NAC improved chromatin integrity and pregnancy rate when administered as adjunct therapy post-varico- celectomy (Registeration Number: IRCT201508177223N5).

【 授权许可】

Unknown