Chlamydia trachomatis neither exerts deleterious effects nor firmly attaches to in vitro capacitated spermatozoa

PUERTA SUAREZ, JENNIFFER; SANCHEZ, LEONARDO R.; MOLINA, ROSA; RIVERO, VIRGINIA E.; MOTRICH, RUBEN D.; SAKA, HECTOR A.; CARDONA MAYA, WALTER D.

Mar del Plata

Congreso; LXIV Reunión Anual de SAI, LXI Reunión Anual de la SAIC, XLVIII Reunión Anual de la SAFE, VII Reunión Anual de la NANOMEDAR, V Congreso Nacional de la AACyTAL.; 2016

Sociedad Argentina de Inmunologia

Chlamydia trachomatis is the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial infection among sexually active young adults. Yearly, approximately 100 million new cases are diagnosed worldwide. Moreover, up to 90% infections in women and 50% in men are asymptomatic favoring bacterial spread. However, whether Chlamydia trachomatis has detrimental effects on sperm quality and male fertility is still a controversial issue. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of Chlamydia spp. on in vitro capacitated human and mouse spermatozoa. By in vitro and in vivo assays, we also analyzed the ability of Chalmydia spp. to firmly interact/attach to spermatozoa. Human and mouse sperm were obtained from healthy donors and cauda epididimys from C57BL/6 mice, respectively. Highly motile in vitro capacitated human or mouse spermatozoa were exposed, at different times, to increasing concentrations of elementary bodies of C. trachomatis (serovar E or LGV) or C. muridarum, respectively. Then, several sperm quality parameters were analyzed. In addition, confocal microscopy and in vitro and in vivo approaches were performed to analyze whether Chlamydia spp. firmly attach to spermatozoa. In vitro capacitated human or murine sperm exposed to increasing bacterial concentrations or soluble factors from C. trachomatis or C. muridarum, respectively, did not show differences in the levels of sperm motility and viability, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA fragmentation, ROS production and lipid peroxidation, when compared with control sperm (p>0.05). Moreover, Chlamydia spp. did not firmly attach to either human or mouse spermatozoa. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that C. trachomatis does not directly exert deleterious effects on in vitro capacitated spermatozoa. Also, we provide evidence indicating that Chlamydia spp. do not firmly attach to spermatozoa shedding light on an old open question with significant implications for assisted reproduction.