Fatty Acid Profile and Metabolism Are Related to Human Sperm Parameters and Are Relevant in Idiopathic Infertility and Varicocele
Table 1
Medians and interquartile ranges of semen and sperm characteristics and sperm fatty acid (FA) quantity.
Semen characteristics, sperm fatty acid abundance, and parameters of fatty acid metabolism
Fertility () Group 1
Idiopathic infertility () Group 2
Infertile Varicocele () Group 3
Kruskal-Wallis value
Pairwise comparisons
Group 1 vs. group 2
Group 1 vs. group 3
Group 2 vs. group 3
Volume (ml)
4.75 (1.00)
3.75 (2.13)
3.90 (2.00)
0.07
118.50 (116.75)
12.10 (51.95)
53.35 (100.75)
Total sperm number
454.50 (538.95)
49.77 (184.65)
182.00 (220.50)
0.06
Motility (%)
34.50 (28.75)
17.50 (11.75)
27.50 (21.00)
Morphology (%)
17.00 (11.25)
7.00 (4.75)
8.50 (7.50)
Vitality (%)
89.50 (14.25)
50.00 (20.75)
72.50 (20.50)
Apoptosis (A) (%)
4.20 (3.18)
8.81 (5.20)
5.82 (2.07)
Necrosis (N) (%)
22.40 (11.87)
40.65 (16.11)
37.18 (16.65)
Immaturity (I) (%)
44.61 (4.53)
53.55 (14.02)
67.71 (12.95)
Fertility index (FI)
2907921.50 (16036247.25)
266546.00 (577090.50)
837293.00 (1316138.25)
Seminal F2-IsoPs (ng/ml)
8.16 (6.48)
31.12 (22.33)
62.40 (23.08)
Seminal cPLA2 (ng/ml)
0.76 (0.30)
0.86 (2.79)
0.85 (2.23)
0.52
Myristic acid (%)
0.70 (0.73)
1.00 (0.20)
1.15 (0.45)
0.28
Palmitic acid (%)
29.85 (12.08)
31.10 (7.95)
28.40 (9.45)
0.48
Margaritic acid (%)
0.35 (0.18)
0.40 (0.55)
0.35 (0.28)
0.27
Stearic acid (%)
16.05 (16.70)
15.50 (18.13)
19.55 (15.05)
0.89
Arachidic acid (%)
0.15 (0.23)
0.50 (0.40)
0.20 (0.55)
0.14
Total SFAs (%)
52.50 (13.68)
55.05 (14.20)
52.60 (21.95)
0.86
Palmitoleic acid (%)
0.50 (0.55)
0.90 (1.08)
0.70 (0.85)
0.48
Oleic acid (%)
5.90 (9.13)
10.45 (7.58)
7.20 (3.95)
0.07
Vaccenic acid (%)
2.45 (1.90)
3.20 (2.28)
2.70 (1.05)
0.49
Total MUFAs (%)
8.75 (12.03)
15.65 (8.60)
10.95 (7.48)
0.14
Linoleic acid (%)
4.10 (2.75)
5.00 (4.43)
5.20 (3.83)
0.76
Eicosadienoic acid (%)
0.85 (0.20)
0.80 (0.43)
0.75 (0.45)
0.75
Eicosatrienoic acid (%)
2.85 (3.35)
2.75 (2.83)
4.70 (3.08)
0.11
Arachidonic acid (%)
3.00 (2.20)
2.65 (2.18)
2.85 (1.98)
0.80
Total n-6 PUFAs (%)
11.80 (6.00)
10.35 (6.55)
14.65 (9.20)
0.21
Eicosapentaenoic acid (%)
0.25 (0.23)
0.70 (1.95)
0.10 (1.23)
0.17
Docosapentaenoic acid (%)
1.05 (0.70)
1.05 (0.58)
0.90 (0.28)
0.60
Docosahexaenoic acid (%)
24.40 (9.90)
14.55 (10.78)
15.85 (10.88)
Total n-3 PUFAs (%)
25.40 (10.38)
17.45 (8.60)
17.75 (8.85)
Trans 18 : 1 acid (%)
0.00 (0.05)
0.00 (0.10)
0.00 (0.00)
0.30
Trans 20 : 1 acid (%)
0.00 (0.03)
0.00 (0.08)
0.00 (0.00)
0.86
Volume: volume (ml) of the ejaculate; : sperm concentration in one ml; total sperm number: total number of sperm in the ejaculate; motility: percentage of progressive sperm motility; morphology: percentage of normal sperm morphology assessed with Papanicolaou staining; vitality: percentage of viable sperm by eosin Y; apoptosis: percentage of sperm apoptosis assessed by transmission electron microscopy; necrosis: percentage of sperm necrosis assessed by transmission electron microscopy; immaturity: percentage of sperm immaturity assessed by transmission electron microscopy; fertility index: the number of sperm probably devoid of defects assessed by transmission electron microscopy; F2-IsoPs: F2-isoprostanes; cPLA2: cytoplasmic phospholipase A2; total SFAs: sum of saturated fatty acids; total MUFAs: sum of monounsaturated acids; total n-6 PUFAs: sum of omega 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids; total n-3 PUFAs: sum of omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. All FA amounts were reported as relative percentage concentration (%). Statistics are reported (,, and ).
