Oxidative stress pathways in male reproductive tissues

Oxidative stress pathways in male reproductive tissues involve the delicate balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the antioxidant defense system, which is crucial for maintaining male fertility [5, 7]. While physiological levels of ROS, such as superoxide and hydrogen peroxide, are required for sperm maturation processes like capacitation and the acrosome reaction, excessive ROS leads to oxidative damage [10, 11]. This damage manifests as lipid peroxidation of the polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich sperm membrane, protein carbonylation, and DNA strand breaks, collectively contributing to male infertility [1, 8]. Therapeutic interventions often target these pathways using exogenous antioxidants like Vitamin E, Coenzyme Q10, and N-acetyl-cysteine to neutralize free radicals and protect sperm integrity [6, 11]. Monitoring these pathways typically involves biomarkers such as malondialdehyde (MDA) for lipid damage and 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) for DNA oxidation [1, 3].

Other names

Male oxidative stress infertilityMOSISeminal oxidative stressTesticular oxidative stressSperm oxidative stress

Scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enhancement of endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity (e.g., SOD, GPx), reduction of lipid peroxidation, and protection of sperm DNA integrity from oxidative fragmentation.