Evaluation of Seminal Plasma Chitotriosidase-1 Levels in A Samples of Iraqi Oligoasthenoteratozoospermic Infertile Men with & Without Varicocele
Maysoon Mahmood Hussein, Ula Al-kawaz, Estabraq A. Alwasiti,
Hayder A. L. Mossa
Fertility problems nowadays was experienced in about 15% of couples of child-bearing age. In almost 50% of cases the identified cause is a male factor, as demonstrated by abnormal values of semen parameters according to WHO guidance, the main tool for the evaluation of male factor infertility is standard semen analysis. This study aimed to assess seminal plasma levels of Chitotriosidase-1 in infertile men mainly oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) patients with and without varicocele Patients. cross-sectional study was enrolled from July 2023 to June 2024 at Male Infertility Clinic of the High Institute for Infertility Diagnosis and Assisted Reproductive Technologies/Al-Nahrain University. Serum. Patients were divided into 2 groups, 40 with varicocele (unilateral or bilateral), 40 without a history of varicocele, and 20 fertile men as a control group who recently father for children. FSH, LH, Prolactin, and Testosterone, with history of primary or secondary infertility were measured and seminal plasma collected samples for Chitotriosidase-1. Our data revealed that there were no significant differences in serum gonadotropic hormone levels between the groups. However, infertile individuals with varicocele had lower sperm concentration, progressively motile sperms, and normal morphology sperms, as well as a higher percentage of immotile sperms compared to those without varicocele. Additionally, seminal plasma chitotriosidase-1 levels were significantly higher in patients with varicocele compared to those without, with the lowest levels found in the control subjects. Chitotriosidase-1 levels were higher in infertile males with varicocele as compared with that without varicocele.
Keywords: Chitotriosidase-1, Varicocele, Seminal Fluid Analysis (SFA), Silent inflammation, Seminal fluid analysis
