Sperm quality, oxidative stress and semen inflammation in HPV male
urogenital infection: the role of co-infections.
Abstract
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted viral
infection worldwide, which has been suggested to affect male fertility.
However, reported evidence is scarce and inconclusive. Moreover, the
putative effects of coinfections remain unveiled. In the present study,
we analyzed male urogenital infection by HPV and coinfection with
several other uropathogens, sperm quality and biomarkers of semen
inflammation in a cohort of 205 men attending a urology clinic. A
considerable prevalence (19%) of HPV male urogenital infection was
found. Interestingly, HPV was detected coinfecting with at least one
other uropathogen in most cases (74.4%). Notably, the most frequently
detected coinfection was C. trachomatis (CT, 52% of cases).
Remarkably, patients solely infected with HPV showed no significant
alterations in conventional sperm parameters as well as reduced
concentrations of IL-6 and leukocytes in semen. However, patients
coinfected with HPV and CT showed significantly impaired sperm
concentration and motility and increased levels of IL-6 in semen. These
results indicate that HPV infection alone does not significantly alter
sperm quality. However, the coinfection with CT decreases sperm quality
and induces semen inflammation, suggesting that concurrent HPV and CT
infection in semen represents a distinct clinical entity with particular
characteristics.