Enhanced lysophosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin contents are characteristic of spermatozoa from obese men-A MALDI mass spectrometric study

► Obesity is an increasing health problem in the industrialized countries. ► Obesity is accompanied by inflammation and the generation of ROS. ► Highly unsaturated lipids (abundant in sperm) are an important target of ROS. ► We will show by MALDI-TOF MS that the PC/LPC ratio is reduced in the sperm from obese men. ► Surprisingly, a large variety of SM is also characteristic of these samples.