P-040 The characteristic of human seminal plasma extracellular vesicle (SPEVs) profiles with different sperm features in a large cohort of 309 Taiwanese men Free

To investigate human seminal plasma extracellular vesicle profiles in different sperm characteristics and their potential clinical application.

Normozoospermic semen has significantly higher SPEV concentration than asthenozoospermic or oligozoospermic samples. Moreover, SPEV concentration was highly correlated with total motile sperm count.

Seminal plasma extracellular vesicles (SPEVs) are cell-derived membrane structures that carry proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids, which can modify the constitution and biological function of sperm. However, the characteristics of SPEVs in different sperm features remained unclear.

From January 2021 to September 2023, 309 men who visited the NCKUH andrology clinic agreed to collect semen samples for this study, which the Institutional Review Board has approved.

Semen parameters were measured by the X1 CASA system (Bonraybio, Taiwan). SPEVs were isolated by size exclusion chromatography column and ExoQuick™. Next, the SPEVs’ concentration and size distribution were performed with nanoparticle tracking analysis. The Kruskal-Wallis test calculated comparison in multiple groups, and Dunn’s multiple comparison tests accessed group-group comparison. The Pearson correlation coefficient r of exosome concentration with individual sperm parameters was calculated. A p-value less than 0.05 was set as statistical significance.

Among them, 59 semen samples were presented with normozoospermia, 36 were oligozoospermia, 73 were asthenozoospermia, and 141 samples had no sperm in semen. Among these 141 azoospermic men, 89 men are characterized by non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), while the other 52 men had a vasectomy. Our data showed that normozoospermic semen has significantly higher SPEV concentration than asthenozoospermic or oligozoospermic semen samples (26 x10⁹ [IQR 17.25 x10⁹-56.25 x10⁹] versus 12 x10⁹ [IQR 5.6 x10⁹-19.5 x10⁹] versus 15.5 x10⁹ [IQR 8.575 x10⁹-26.75 x10⁹], p = 0.0001). Nevertheless, azoospermic semen has the lowest SPEV concentrations. The concentration of SPEVs from infertile men diagnosed with NOA is slightly lower than vasectomized men (3.9 x10⁹ [IQR 1.875 x10⁹-7.675 x10⁹] versus 5.4 x10⁹ [IQR 2.9 x10⁹-8 x10⁹], p = 0.0001). The Pearson r coefficient of SPEV concentration with sperm concentration, progressive motility, and total motile sperm count was 0.238, 0.303, and 0.451, respectively. (P < 0.0001)

Because our data were collected from Taiwanese men, it is not yet known whether SPEV profiles differ among races.

Human SPEV concentration and its bio-content may be a potential non-invasive biomarker to predict the male reproductive outcome.

not applicable