Fatty Acid Profile and Metabolism Are Related to Human Sperm Parameters and Are Relevant in Idiopathic Infertility and Varicocele
Table 3
Significant correlations (Spearman’s Rho coefficient) between sperm fatty acid (FA) abundance and semen characteristics, seminal isoprostanes (F2-IsoPs), and cytoplasmic phospholipase (cPLA2) levels.
Sperm fatty acids
Variables positively correlated to the fatty acid
Correlation coefficient (Rho) and statistical significance ()
Variables negatively correlated to the fatty acid
Correlation coefficient (Rho) and statistical significance ()
Rho
value
Rho
value
Palmitic acid
Sperm vitality
- 0.362
<0.05
Margaritic acid
Sperm concentration
- 0.422
<0.05
DHA
- 0.505
<0.01
Total n-3
- 0.434
<0.05
Arachidic acid
Sperm immaturity
0.428
<0.05
Oleic acid
Sperm necrosis
0.655
<0.01
Sperm concentration
- 0.561
<0.01
cPLA2
0.414
<0.05
Total sperm number
- 0.377
<0.05
Total MUFAs
0.968
<0.01
Sperm motility
- 0.599
<0.01
Sperm morphology
- 0.401
<0.05
Sperm vitality
- 0.493
<0.01
Fertility index
- 0.477
<0.01
DHA
- 0.578 - 0.515
<0.01
Total n-3
<0.01
Total MUFAs
Sperm necrosis
0.597
<0.01
Sperm concentration
- 0.501
<0.01
Oleic acid
0.968
<0.01
Sperm motility
- 0.573
<0.01
Sperm morphology
- 0.372
<0.01
Sperm vitality
- 0.462
<0.05
Fertility index
- 0.415
<0.05
DHA
- 0.483
<0.01
Total n-3
- 0.414
<0.05
EPA
Sperm necrosis
0.446
<0.05
Sperm concentration
- 0.479
<0.01
Arachidonic acid
0.471
<0.05
Total sperm number
- 0.398
<0.05
Oleic acid
0.618
<0.01
DHA
- 0.647
<0.01
cPLA2
0.523
<0.01
Total n-3
- 0.506
<0.01
Total MUFAs
0.559
<0.01
Trans 18 : 1
0.603
<0.01
DHA
Sperm concentration
0.405
<0.05
Sperm necrosis
- 0.576
<0.01
Total sperm number
0.502
<0.01
cPLA2
- 0.518
<0.01
Sperm morphology
0.580
<0.01
Margaritic acid
- 0.505
<0.01
Sperm vitality
0.517
<0.01
Oleic acid
- 0.578
<0.01
Fertility index
0.612
<0.01
Total MUFAs
- 0.483
<0.01
Total n-3
0.949
<0.01
EPA
- 0.647
<0.01
Trans 18 : 1
- 0.437
<0.05
Total n-3
Sperm concentration
0.475
<0.01
Sperm necrosis
- 0.478
<0.01
Total sperm number
0.391
<0.05
cPLA2
- 0.418
<0.05
Sperm morphology
0.364
<0.05
Margaritic acid
- 0.434
<0.05
Sperm vitality
0.470
<0.01
Oleic acid
- 0.515
<0.01
Fertility index
0.579
<0.01
Total MUFAs
- 0.414
<0.05
DHA
0.949
<0.01
EPA
- 0.506
<0.01
Trans 18 : 1 acid
cPLA2
0.371
<0.05
DHA
- 0.437
<0.05
EPA
0.603
<0.01
Total sperm number
- 0.551
<0.01
Sperm concentration: number of ; total sperm number: total number of sperm in the ejaculate; sperm motility: percentage of progressive sperm motility; sperm morphology: percentage of normal sperm morphology assessed with Papanicolaou staining; sperm vitality: percentage of viable sperm by eosin Y; sperm necrosis: percentage of sperm necrosis assessed by transmission electron microscopy; sperm 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; cPLA2: cytoplasmic phospholipase seminal levels (ng/ml); total MUFAs: sum of monounsaturated acids; EPA: eicosapentaenoic acid; DHA: docosahexaenoic acid; total n-3: sum of omega 3 fatty acids. All FA amounts were reported as relative percentage concentration (%).
