Nuclear Factor Kappa-B Protein Levels in Sperm of Obese Men with and without Diabetes; Cellular Approach in Male Infertility

Objective:Although the role of obesity and diabetes mellitus (DM) in male infertility is well established, little informationabout the underlying cellular mechanisms in infertility is available. In this sense, nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-kB) hasbeen recognized as an important regulator in obesity and DM; However, its function in the pathogenesis of maleinfertility has never been studied in obese or men who suffer from diabetes. Therefore, the main goal of current researchis assessing NF-kB existence and activity in ejaculated human spermatozoa considering the obesity and diabeticscondition of males. Materials and Methods: In an experimental study, the ELISA technique was applied to analyze NF-kB levels in spermof four experimental groups: non-obese none-diabetic men (body mass index (BMI) lt;25 kg/m2; control group; n=30),obese non-diabetic men (BMI gt;30 kg/m2; OB group; n=30), non-obese diabetic men (BMI lt;25 kg/m2; DM group; n=30),and obese diabetic men (BMI gt;30 kg/m2; OB-DM group; n=30) who were presented to Royan Institute Infertility Center.In addition, protein localization was shown by Immunocytofluorescent assay. Sperm features were also evaluated usingCASA. Results: The diabetic men were older than non-diabetic men regardless of obesity status (P=0.0002). Sperm progressivemotility was affected by obesity (P=0.035) and type A sperm progressive motility was affected by DM (P=0.034). Theconcentration of sperm (P=0.013), motility (P=0.025) and morphology (P lt;0.0001) were altered by obesity × diabetesinteraction effects. The NF-kB activity was negatively influenced by the main impact of diabetics (P=0.019). Obesitydid not affect (P=0.248) NF-kB activity. Uniquely, NF-kB localized to the midpiece of sperm and post-acrosomal areas. Conclusion: The current study indicated a lower concentration of NF-kB in diabetic men, no effect of obesity on NF-kBwas observed yet. Additionally, we revealed the main obesity and diabetes effects, and their interaction effect adverselyinfluenced sperm characteristics.