SIMULTANEOUS MEASUREMENT OF SPERM LDH, LDH-X, CPK ACTIVITIES AND ATP CONTENT IN NORMOSPERMIC AND OLIGOZOOSPERMIC MEN

Total lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), LDH-X, creatine phosphokinase (CPK) activities and ATP content were measured in washed spermatozoa from 1 88 normospermic and 94 oligozoospermic men. These four biochemical par ameters were significantly higher (p<0.001) in spermatozoa from oligoz oospermic men than in those from normospermic men and were related inv ersely to sperm concentration. In oligozoospermic men the activity of sperm LDH and LDH-X was related significantly to sperm CPK activity (r = 0.5486 and r = 0.4442, respectively), whereas this relationship was less evident in normospermic men (r = 0.4124 and r = 0.3844, respecti vely). Sperm ATP content was related weakly to sperm LDH, LDH-X and CP K activities both in oligozoospermic and normospermic men. After separ ation on a discontinuous (40% and 80%) Percoll gradient LDH, LDH-X, CP K activities and ATP content in 80% separated sperm fractions from 48 normospermic and 30 oligozoospermic men were found to be significantly lower than in the initial semen sample in both groups of subjects. Th e 80% separated sperm fractions from oligozoospermic and normospermic men did not differ in their LDH or LDH-X activities or ATP content, wh ereas sperm CPK activity was still significantly higher in oligozoospe rmic men. These data suggest that, of the four parameters studied, hig h levels of intracellular CPK activity are the most relevant biochemic al feature of spermatozoa from oligozoospermic men.