DNA Damage and some Interleukins in Oligospermia

Abstract

Male infertility is greatly exacerbated by oligospermia, which is characterized by a sperm concentration of less than 15 million/mL. It is often associated with an elevated sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), which indicates compromised DNA integrity.  One major factor contributing to the increase in DFI is oxidative stress (OS), which is caused by an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants.  Oxidative stress and male infertility are linked to inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-17 (IL-17) and interleukin-33 (IL-33). The aim of the study is to examine the relationship between sperm DNA integrity and inflammatory cytokines (IL-17 and IL-33) in oligospermic males as opposed to normospermia controls. Between November 2024 and March 2025, a case-control study was conducted in Baghdad to investigate the relationship between DFI and IL-17/IL-33 in 30 fertile controls and 50 oligospermic men. the result of seminal concentrations of IL-17 and IL-33 were markedly diminished in oligospermic males relative to controls (P ≤ 0.01), The level of IL-17 was decreased highly significantly in oligospermic mean compared to healthy (0.6917 ± 0.146 pg/ml) , (0.8903 ± 0.112 pg/ml) respectively whereas for IL-33 it was (1.09 ± 0.195 pg/ml) , (1.184 ± 0.132 pg/ml)  ,for IL-17 there was negative moderate correlation (r= -0.47) with sperm DNA quality while there was no discernible relationship for IL-33 (r=0.05).