LACK OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN HPV AND SPERM PARAMETERS AS A RISK FACTOR IN INFERTILE MEN ADMITTED TO AN INFERTILITY CLINIC

Abstract

Introduction: Numerous factors contribute to male infertility including genital infections that may appear following microbial, fungal, and viral infections. Different studies have been recently conducted in the world on papillomavirus infection and its effect on functional parameters of sperm including motility, morphology, sperm count, and reduced male fertility. However, the correlation between papillomavirus infection and male infertility is still ambiguous. Materials and Methods: In this study, 50 semen samples of fertile men (as the control group) and 50 semen samples of infertile men were collected from Infertility Center of Qom Jihad Daneshgahi, Qom, Iran. The semen samples were analyzed according to World Health Organization’s standard methods and papillomavirus was detected using PCR and virus L1 region replication. Results: The analyzed spermogram of 50 infertile samples showed that 36%, 68%, and 72% of the samples had problems, respectively in terms of count, motility, and morphology, and 52% of the infertile samples had problems in all three parameters. The DNA of human papillomavirus was not detected in any fertile and infertile samples. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, there was no correlation between papillomavirus infection and male infertility. It seems that factors such as male circumcision, lack of homosexual behavior, and lack of multiple sexual partners were effective in reducing the prevalence of HPV in the studied male population.