Relationships Between Levels of Reactive Oxygen Species in Spermatozoa and GSTM1 Polymorphism in Infertile Men

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between glutathione S-transferase Mu-1 (GSTM1) gene polymorphism and the susceptibility of spermatozoa from patients with idiopathic infertility to oxidative stress. Fifty-two men with idiopathic infertility and 60 healthy fertile men were recruited to this study. GSTM1 gene polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and both the infertile and control individuals were divided into GSTM1 null and GSTM1 positive groups according to their GSTM1 gene structure. ROS formation in spermatozoa was followed by chemiluminescence of luminol-fluoresceine-enhanced system. We compared reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in spermatozoa from infertile patients and controls with respect to GSTM1 genotype. Significantly higher levels of ROS were found in idiopathic infertile men with the GSTM1 null genotype compared with those with the GSTM1 positive genotype. There was no significant difference in genotype distribution for the GSTM1 variant between the idiopathic infertile subjects and fertile subjects. Our results suggest that the susceptibility of spermatozoa to oxidative stress is significantly greater in idiopathic infertile men with the GSTM1 null genotype compared with those possessing the gene. Therefore, in patients with idiopathic infertility, GSTM1 polymorphism might be an important source of variation in susceptibility of spermatozoa to oxidative damage.