Evaluation of sperm parameters, chromatin quality and apoptosis rate in men with a history of morphine abuse

Background: Consumption of opioid drugs is considered as a significant factor affecting the male fertility. Morphine, as an essential alkaloid of opium structure has adverse effects on the human sperm and semen parameters. Furthermore, oxidative stress generated by opioids may affect sperm DNA integrity and chromatin quality.Objective: To evaluate the possible effects of morphine abuse on sperm parameters, chromatin quality and DNA integrity in opium addicted men.Materials and Methods: The study included 30 opiate addict men and 30 healthy volunteers as controls. The case subjects were categorized into three different groups: men who abused opium (group 1); men with a history of addiction to both opium and cigarette (group 2); and men addicted to both opium and its derivatives (opium extract) with a history of cigarette smoking (group 3). Semen collection and analysis were performed according to World Health Organization criteria (2010). Routine semen parameters such as sperm count and motility were evaluated by Makler chamber. To determine the sperm chromatin abnormalities, aniline blue (AB) and toluidine blue (TB) staining methods were applied. The percentage of apoptotic spermatozoa was evaluated by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Then data were statistically analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Student’s t test as well as Mann-Whitney U test. p<0.05 was considered significant.Results: Sperm count and total motility were significantly decreased in the case groups compared with controls (p<0.05). However, no significant differences were found between the subgroups of the case subjects regarding sperm count and total motility (p> 0.05). There was a significant increase in the rate of aniline blue-positive spermatozoa as well as toluidine blue-positive spermatozoa in the opium addicts compared to the controls (p<0.05). Moreover, case group had a higher percentage of spermatozoa with apoptosis (TUNEL positive) compared to the controls significantly (p<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between case subgroups with regard to aniline blue and toluidine blue staining in addition to TUNEL assay (p> 0.05).Conclusion: The results indicated that morphine abuse may have deleterious effects on semen parameters and can adversely affect the sperm chromatin and DNA integrity regardless of the kind of opiates.

Keywords:

Opium addiction , Morphine , Sperm chromatin , Oxidative stress , Apoptosis