Do sexually transmitted pathogens play a role in male infertility?

PAIRA, DANIELA A.; TISSERA, ANDREA D.; MOLINA, ROSA I.; OLMEDO, JOSE J.; SAKA, HECTOR A.; MOTRICH, RUBEN D.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; Reunión de Sociedades de Biociencias 2021; 2021

Male urogenital infection/inflammation has been proposed as responsible for up to 15% of male infertility cases. In fact, several microorganisms including Ureaplasma spp. (UU), Mycoplasma hominis (MH) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) have been associated to infertility. However, compelling evidence from large studies about the role of these infections on male infertility is currently lacking. Herein, we studied the prevalence of UU, MH and CT infections and their impact on semen quality in a cohort of 3484 male partners of infertile couples.Semen specimens were collected by masturbation and semen analysis assessed according to the WHO guidelines. Infections were analyzed by PCR or culture. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test infection associations.A prevalence of UU, MH and CT infection of 18.8%, 4.34%, and 4.05% was found, respectively. A single infection was detected in 18.5% of patients, whereas the simultaneous presence of two and the three uropathogens was detected in 4.6% of patients. A significant association between MH and UU infections was found (OR: 39.64, p<0.0001). On the other hand, MH or CT infected patients showed reduced sperm concentration (p<0.05), lower sperm viability (p<0.05), and decreased counts of morphologically normal sperm (p<0.004), with respect to non-infected patients. Moreover, CT and UU infected patients revealed significantly increased leukocyte counts in semen (p<0.05).Our results describe for the first time the prevalence of three common urogenital infections in male partners of infertile couples from Argentina, which are similar to those already reported worldwide. Moreover, our data indicate that MH and UU infections are mutual risk factors of their co-infection. In addition, MH and CT infections were associated with alterations in some sperm quality parameters. Altogether, our results point out the relevance of including the screening of urogenital infections in the diagnostic workup of male infertility.