Fol. Biol. 2012, 58, 7-15
Influence of Chemical Elements on Mammalian Spermatozoa
Exposure to heavy metals is the most important risk factor in the assessment of spermatogenesis. About 30–40 % cases of infertility are caused by the male factor, and most of them are due to the small quantity of spermatozoa or to inferior spermatozoa quality. The negative impact on sperm motility, morphology and concentration of such chemical elements as Al, Cr, Cd, Pb or Fe was observed, while positive influence was noticed for Zn, Mg, and Ca. The influence of Mn, Cu, Ni or Se on spermatozoa is ambiguous. Chemical elements known as necessary for capacitation and acrosome reaction are Zn, Mg and Ca, while Cd and Pb disturb initiation and progress of the acrosome reaction. The positive effect of chemical elements Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Se, and Zn, lies in their protection against oxidative stress. On the other hand, Al, Cu and Ni induce structural changes in the testes and epididymis or influence interactions with other chemical elements.
Keywords
sperm, spermatozoa, semen, chemical element, trace elements, heavy metals, motility, capacitation, acrosome reaction, oxidative stress, male infertility.
Funding
This work was supported by grant No. 47-2008 from Rector Magnificus of Nicolas Copernicus University in Toruń and from the European Social Fund and State budget within the framework of the Integrated Program of Operating-Regional Development – the Activity 2.6 “Regional Innovative Strategies and Knowledge Transfer” of individual project of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Province: “Scholarships for Graduate Students of 2008/2009 – ZPORR”.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
