AN ELECTRON-MICROSCOPE STUDY OF THE AXONEMAL ULTRASTRUCTURE IN HUMAN SPERMATOZOA FROM MALE SMOKERS AND NONSMOKERS

Objective: To investigate possible abnormalities or deterioration of t he sperm axonemal ultrastructure in men who have smoked a large quanti ty of cigarettes (>20 per day) for a prolonged period. Design: Semen s pecimens were collected by patients via masturbation; qualitative char acteristics of the sperm were assessed and ultrastructural analysis of the sperm axoneme was performed using standard operating procedures f or electron transmission microscopy. Setting: The Andrology Institute of Lexington, Lexington, Kentucky, and the Department of Histology and Embryology, University of Salonika, Greece (collaborative effort). Pa tient(s): Twenty-nine men (mean age +/- SD, 30.7 +/- 2.1 years) who sm oked a mean (+/-SD) of 30.7 +/- 2.1 cigarettes per day for 10.7 +/- 0. 7 years and 15 men who never smoked (mean age +/- SE, 30.4 +/- 2.2 yea rs) participated in this study. Main Outcome Measure(s): Ultrastructur al organization of the sperm axoneme in male smokers and nonsmokers. R esult(s): Changes in the number and the arrangement of axonemal microt ubules were noted in the smoker group when compared to the nonsmoker g roup. The incidence of axonemal abnormalities was higher in spermatozo a from smokers compared with that in spermatozoa from nonsmokers. Conc lusion(s): Smoking a large quantity of cigarettes per day, under the c onditions of the current study, severely affected the ultrastructure o f the flagellum and, more specifically, it affected the axoneme of the human spermatozoon. (C) 1998 by American Society for Reproductive Med icine.