Abstract
Objective. To investigate the NT-proBNP concentration in ejaculate samples from healthy men and men with oligozooastenospermia.
Materials and methods. The study included 52 men of reproductive age (34.4 3.9 years). The main group (n = 18) consisted of men with reduced ejaculate fertility, the comparison group (n = 34) consisted of men with normal levels of concentration and total sperm count. In seminal plasma, the concentration of NT-proBNP was investigated by solid-phase ELISA using the NT-proBNP-ELISA-BEST test system (A-9102) (Vector-Best, Russia).
Results. The mean value of NT-proBNP content in the ejaculate (n = 52) was 29.498 pg / ml, the median concentration was 2.860 pg / ml and was characterized by high variability. In 62% (32 of 52) of the tested seminal plasma samples, the NT-proBNP value was below 20 pg / ml. The frequency of samples with such a low NT-proBNP content did not differ statistically significantly between the groups. In the main group, the number of such samples was 44 % (8 samples out of 18), and in the comparison group, 65 % (12 samples out of 34).
Conclusions. When comparing the content of NT-proBNP in seminal plasma, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups. An analysis of the correlation between the concentration and the number of sperm in the ejaculate and the NT-proBNP content also did not reveal a statistically significant relationship. The possible role of natriuretic peptides in human fertility is discussed.