Mobile phones electromagnetic radiation and NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase as a mitochondrial marker in asthenozoospermia

•Increased seminal NAD+-IDH activity with prolonged mobile daily use ≥4 h/day.•Semen NAD+-IDH levels correlated negatively with the sperm motility parameters.•Semen NAD+-IDH level could be one of biomarkers reflecting the mitochondrial function.

NAD+-dependent Isocitrate Dehydrogenase (NAD+-IDH) could be one of the cell phone radiation targets. Enzyme activity alteration may lead to decline in sperm motility during radio-frequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) exposure. The current case control study aimed to investigate the possible relationship between mitochondrial NAD+-IDH activity in human seminal plasma and sperm motility among asthenozoospermic cellular phone users. A total number of ninety idiopathic infertile males referred from the Department of Dermatology and Andrology, were enrolled in this study. NAD+-IDH activity was measured in human seminal plasma by spectrophotometer. Computer-aided sperm analysis (CASA) following WHO criteria has been used for semen analyses. The results showed that IDH activity was increased in patients with prolonged cell phone daily use ≥4 h/day. Its level, correlated negatively with either the motility ratio percentages (r = −0.46, p < 0.001) or the progressive motility percentages (r = −0.50, p < 0.001) in the study groups. The current study suggests that NAD+-IDH in human seminal plasma could be one of seminal plasma biomarkers reflecting the mitochondrial function of spermatozoa. Alteration of its level could reflect the defective motility of sperms among some cases of cellular phone users.

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