The Effect of Tumor Necrosis Factor on Human Sperm Motility In Vitro

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Abstract
Tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) is present in elevated levels in peritoneal fluid from infertile women with endometriosis. The effect of TNFα on human sperm motility in vitro was evaluated utilizing peritoneal fluid from infertile women with minimal endometriosis containing 0, 100, 400, or 800 U of TNFα/ml as well as similar concentrations of recombinant human TNFα. No reduction in progressive and total motility was found at recombinant TNFα concentrations of 100 U ml. However, 500 and 1000 U of recombinant TNFα/ml caused a significant reduction in progressive and total sperm motility after 4 and 21 hours of incubation when compared with controls. Similarly, peritoneal fluid containing 100 U of TNFα/ml did not significantly reduce progressive and total sperm motility after either 4 or 21 hours of incubation; but peritoneal fluid containing 400 U of TNFα/ml reduced progressive sperm motility after 4 and 21 hours and total sperm motility after 21 hours of incubation. Peritoneal fluid with a TNFα concentration of 800 U/ml caused a significant reduction in both progressive and total sperm motility after 4 and 21 hours when compared with controls of TNFα-negative peritoneal fluid. The addition of polyclonal rabbit anti-TNFα antibody or 30-min heat inactivation at 56 C of TNFα-positive peritoneal fluid reversed the inhibitory effect on sperm motility. The ability of TNFα to cause a significant reduction of sperm motility in vitro suggests that this may be a mechanism for the infertility observed in women with minimal endometriosis.