association between seminal plasma neopterin and oxidative stress in male infertility: a case-control study

Background: neopterin is a significant and sensitive marker in estimating the activity of cellular immune system. oxidative stress plays a role in the etiology of male infertility. increased reactive oxygen species is accompanied with increase in neopterin level. hence neopterin may be involved in male infertility. objective: the objective of this case-control study was to determine neopterin level in idiopathic infertile and normospermic men; furthermore, to identify its relationship with oxidative stress markers including total oxidant, malondialdehyde, sperm dna fragmentation, and total antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma. materials and methods: forty seven infertile and forty three normospermic males were selected according to who criteria. their semen and blood samples were taken; subsequently, the levels of neopterin, total oxidant, total antioxidant, malondialdehyde, and sperm dna fragmentation were measured. results: the levels of neopterin, total oxidant, and malondialdehyde in seminal plasma of infertile males were significantly higher than those of normospermic group (p=0.038, 0.018, and 0.028, respectively). furthermore, sperm dna fragmentation in infertile men was higher than that of control group (p<0.001). moreover, total antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma in infertile males was significantly lower than that of normospermic subjects (p=0.002). no significant difference was observed in serum neopterin, total oxidant, and malondialdehyde between the infertile and normospermic groups. conclusion: the significant inverse correlation between seminal plasma neopterin and total antioxidant in the infertile males supports a possible role of neopterin in male infertility. neopterin can be suggested as a marker in monitoring and diagnosis of idiopathic male infertility.