BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated damage to human spermatozoa
has been implicated in the pathogenesis of male infertility. Although ROS production by
human spermatozoa has been extensively studied, the cell-to-cell variation in ROS
production by spermatozoa at different stages of maturation has never been investigated.
METHODS: In this study, we determined ROS production by subsets of human spermatozoa
at different stages of maturation isolated by density gradient centrifugation of ejaculated …

Objectives: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) play an important role in the pathogenesis of
male infertility. Immature spermatozoa, as well as leukocytes in semen, have been shown to
produce high levels of ROS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in ROS
production by subsets of human spermatozoa at different stages of maturation obtained by
fractionation of ejaculated spermatozoa by density gradient centrifugations. Design: A
prospective controlled analysis of the ROS production and sperm morphology in patients …