OXIDATIVE STRESS AND MALE INFERTILITY. PART I: FACTORS CAUSING OXIDATIVE STRESS IN SEMEN

Reactive oxygen species are products of normal cellular metabolism and when produced in small amounts, controlled by the antioxidant systems play an important role in many physiological processes. However, the increased production of reactive oxygen species, caused by imbalance between their generation and the protective eff ects of antioxidant system, inevitably leads to an oxidative stress. Th is causes damage to major cellular macromolecules, dysfunction and fi nally cell death. It is presently considered that oxidative stress is one of the main causes of male infertility, including idiopathic infertility, resulting from impairement of sperm function, mainly due to peroxidation of cell membrane’s lipids and paternal DNA.