[Expressions of Th1/Th2 cytokines and autoantibodies in the serum of males with idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia and their significance]

Objective: To investigate the expressions of Th1/Th2 cytokines and autoantibodies in the serum of the patients with idiopathic oligoasthenozoospermia (IO) and their significance.

Methods: From November 2017 to April 2020, we examined the levels of Th1/Th2 cytokines (IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-21, TNF-α, IFN-γ) and the expressions of AhCGAb, AsAb and AcAb in the serum of 48 infertile men with mild or moderate IO, 48 with severe IO and another 72 males with normal semen parameters by ELISA. We compared the results of detection among the three groups and analyzed them with the logistic regression model.

Results: Compared with the normal controls, the patients with mild or moderate IO showed significant increases in the levels of IL-10, IL-21 and IFN-γ and the expressions of AhCGAb, AsAb and AcAb (P < 0.05), and so were those of the severe IO group in the levels of all the six cytokines and the expressions of the three autoantibodies (P < 0.05). The levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-21 and TNF-α and the expressions of AhCGAb and AsAb were even higher in the patients with severe IO than in those with mild or moderate IO (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the increased levels of IL-21/IL-10 (OR = 1.694, 95% CI: 0.319－4.035, P < 0.05) and positive expressions of AhCGAb (OR = 4.357, 95% CI: 1.204－9.426, P < 0.05) and AsAb (OR = 2.135, 95% CI: 1.902－5.429, P < 0.05) were the risk factors for IO.

Conclusions: The levels of the cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-21, TNF-α and IFN-γ and the expressions of the autoantibodies AhCGAb, AsAb and AoAb are significantly higher in IO patients than in normal healthy males. Quantitative analysis of cytokines and autoantibodies in the serum of IO patients may provide some valuable information for studies of the pathogenesis of male infertility.