Metabolomic Platform Reveals Male Fertility Biomarkers

A non-invasive method for assessing male fertility utilizes spectroscopy-based metabolomic profiling of biomarkers of oxidative stress (OS).

Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was used to assess biomarkers of OS in seminal plasma of previously diagnosed patients. Spectral data were then analyzed using bioinformatics. In a pilot study, five groups of specimens showed unique metabolomic profiles, or "signatures,” which were statistically different from each other, illustrating different levels of oxidative stress between normal males and those with various forms of male factor infertility. Total analysis time for each specimen was approximately one minute.

The results of the study, which used Metabolic Biometrics' (Chester, NJ, USA) metabolomic platform, were presented by Dr. Ashok Agarwal and colleagues from the Cleveland Clinic Foundation (Cleveland, OH, USA) at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting in New Orleans (LA, USA) in October 2006. The poster presentation was titled, "Assessment of oxidative stress levels in semen using spectroscopy-based metabolomic profiling: implications in male infertility.”

Oxidative stress has long been implicated as a likely cause of male factor infertility and has been shown to negatively affect sperm and embryo quality, and thus pregnancy outcomes. The study concluded that metabolomic profiling of seminal plasma using NIR spectroscopy provides a rapid, non-invasive, diagnostic screening test for male infertility by identifying different levels of oxidative stress in seminal plasma.

James Posillico, Ph.D., president and CEO of Molecular Biometrics, commented on the study, "These data show for the first time that metabolomic profiling of oxidative stress biomarkers could be an effective method of diagnosing various forms of male factor infertility in a rapid, non-invasive manner. We will be conducting further studies to validate these promising observations and to focus on the development of a simple, cost-effective diagnostic screening test.”



Related Links:
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Metabolic Biometrics