ABSTRACT

The action of myo-inositol (MI), belonging to the inositol family, has been shown to improve sperm quality. To further elucidate the efficacy of this substance in male fertility, we investigated in vivo the effects of a nutraceuticals mix, containing mainly myo-inositol (MI) and in vitro the action of the MI on human male gamete performance. Sperm samples were evaluated from 51 men: 21 healthy normozoospermic and 30 oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT). In the latter group, 15 patients were orally treated with the nutraceutical mix and in the remaining 15 patients only MI was used directly on their ejaculated sperm. Comparing the pathologic samples with respect to normal samples we observed that motility, viability, Bcl-2 phosphorylation, and cholesterol efflux increased after in vitro and in vivo treatments. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity as well as triglycerides level and lipase activity highlighted an enhancement of energy expenditure upon the treatment. Uncapacitated sperm is characterized by an anabolic metabolism, to generate an energy reservoir which will be spent during the capacitation, an energy-consuming process needed to acquire the competence for the fertilization. Intriguingly, our finding highlights that the treatment with these substances facilitated the switch from uncapacitated to capacitated sperm, promoting the acquisition of the male gamete fertilizing capacity. Our data suggested that these substances act both directly on sperm and on spermatogenesis, improving the performance of OAT sperm invitro and invivo. The positive effects of these treatments could be of great help for men and couples who have difficulty to conceive achild in anatural way and/or during medical-assisted reproduction.

Abbreviations: 30 OAT-untreated patients; B: 15 OAT patients treated in vivo; Bovine serum albumin (BSA); C: 15 OAT patients treated in vitro; cholesterol oxidase–peroxidase (CHOD–POD); H: Normozoospermic samples; HM: sperm from normospermic patients treated in vitro with MI; MI: Myoinositol: IM: Immobile motility; NP: Non-progressive motility; OAT: Oligoasthenoteratozoospermic; PPP: Pentose Phosphate Pathway; PR: Progressive motility; WHO: World Health Organization.

摘要

肌醇 (MI) 属于肌醇家族，其作用已被证明可以提高精子质量。为了进一步阐明这种物质对男性生育力的功效，我们在体内研究了主要含有肌醇 (MI) 的营养保健品混合物的影响，并在体外研究了 MI 对人类男性配子性能的作用。对 51 名男性的精子样本进行了评估：21 名健康正常精子和 30 名少弱精子症 (OAT)。在后一组中，15 名患者接受了营养组合的口服治疗，其余 15 名患者仅将 MI 直接用于他们射出的精子。将病理样本与正常样本进行比较，我们观察到运动性、活力、Bcl-2 磷酸化和胆固醇流出增加后体外和体内治疗。葡萄糖 6-磷酸脱氢酶活性以及甘油三酯水平和脂肪酶活性突出了治疗后能量消耗的增强。无能力精子的特征是合成代谢，以产生能量储存器，该能量储存器将在获能期间消耗，这是获得受精能力所需的能量消耗过程。有趣的是，我们的发现强调了用这些物质处理促进了从无能力精子到有能力精子的转变，促进了雄配子受精能力的获得。我们的数据表明，这些物质直接作用于精子和精子发生，提高了 OAT 精子的体外和体内。这些治疗的积极效果可能对难以以自然方式和/或在医疗辅助生殖期间受孕的男性和夫妇有很大帮助。

缩写： 30 名未接受 OAT 治疗的患者；B：体内治疗的15名OAT患者；牛血清白蛋白 (BSA); C：15 名 OAT 患者体外治疗；胆固醇氧化酶-过氧化物酶（CHOD-POD）；H：正常精子样本；HM：来自用 MI体外治疗的正常精子症患者的精子；MI：肌醇：IM：不动；NP：非进行性运动；OAT：少弱无畸形；PPP：戊糖磷酸途径；PR：进行性运动；世界卫生组织：世界卫生组织。