Abstract
Coenzyme Q10 in seminal fluid shows a direct correlation with seminal parameters except
in patients with varicocele. To evaluate whether surgical treatment of varicocele
could revert CoQ10 abnormalities, we have studied CoQ10 distribution in thirty-three
VAR patients, before and 6-8 months after varicocelectomy, twenty patients with idiopathic
oligozoospermia, eleven with isolated asthenozoospermia and sixteen normal fertile
men. CoQ10 was assayed in total seminal fluid, plasma or cell pellet by HPLC. A significantly
higher CoQ10 proportion in seminal plasma in VAR vs. controls (mean ± SEM: 61.68 ± 2.41 vs. 41.60 ± 1.99 %, respectively) was present; total CoQ10 correlated with sperm motility
in controls, but not in VAR; an inverse correlation between cellular CoQ10 and motility
was present in VAR, but not in controls. Postoperatively, a partial reversion was
observed, since the plasma-to-total CoQ10 ratio decreased, but the correlation between
total CoQ10 and motility was not restored. On the contrary, the peculiar correlation
between cellular CoQ10 and motility was no more detectable in postoperative VAR patients.
A partial postoperative reversal of abnormalities in CoQ10 distribution and correlation
with seminal parameters was therefore present. As seminal plasma CoQ10 reflects an
interchange between intracellular and extracellular compartments, its different distribution
could cause a greater sensitivity to peroxidative damage and a reduced utilization
for energetic purpose.
Key words
Antioxidant - Infertility - Reactive oxygen species - Coenzyme Q10 - Varicocele
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A. Mancini
Institute of Endocrinology, Catholic University of Sacred Heart
Largo G. Vidari n. 7 · 00135 Rome · Italy
Email: mancini.giac@mclink.it
