Aim. To assess the role of serum and ejaculate inhibin-activin status disorders in the development of reproductive disorders at idiopathic male infertility. Methods. The research includes data of laboratory and clinical examination of 82 infertile and 60 fertile men. Serum and semen levels of reproduction regulatory peptides inhibin B and activin A were determined using standard commercially available kits for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Other parameters of ejaculate were also investigated. Results. In men with infertility of the unknown cause, sperm cell concentration was significantly decreased, and the proportion of sex cells with morphological anomalies was increased. The main features of inhibin-activin profile of biological fluids in healthy males with proven fertility were revealed, which were the significant gradient of inhibin and activin intertissue concentrations and domination of these molecular fertility factors in seminal plasma, corresponding with the views of their key role in sperm fertilizing capacity. In patients with pathospermia, the significant decrease of inhibin B concentration in the ejaculate but not in serum, associated with increased activin A levels was revealed, accompanied by characteristic shift of inhibin-activin ratio associated with the deterioration of quality and quantity parameters of semen. Conclusion. Revealed changes in the inhibin-activin sperm plasma mirror may be a pathogenetic basis for the idiopathic infertility in couples. Inhibin-activin coefficient in blood serum and seminal fluid may be used as a promising diagnostic and prognostic marker of reproductive dysfunction risk.

Aim. To evaluate of contamination of ejaculate by polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans and to analyze the glutathione system status in males with infertility. Methods. 168 infertile and 49 fertile men were examined. Semen analysis was made in accordance with the World Health Organization protocol. The semen levels of persistent organic pollutants (dioxins and furans) was determined by a combination of high-performance capillary gas chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry, glutathione-depended enzymes activity - by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. It is found that the levels of priority environmental pollutants of dioxins and furans classes was 2,2-2,3 times higher in the semen of infertile men compared to fertile donors. The maximum level of the most toxic congener - 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin - was detected in patients pathospermia, which was found in most infertile patients. The glutathione redox system status in males with infertility was characterized by the decrease in the reduced tripeptide concentration, decreased activity of glutathione-depended xenobiotic detoxification enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase), multidirectional shifts of metabolism-mediating enzymes (inhibition of glutathione reductase associated with stimulation of g-glutamyltransferase). The molecular mechanisms of polychlorinated dioxins/furans toxicity for the male reproductive system are discussed, which may be mediated by redox state-sensitive signaling systems modulation. Conclusion. Contamination of semen in infertile men by environmental pollutants of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans classes supports the hypothesis of the relationship of the reproductive pathology with environmental factors. The most important link in the pathogenesis of decreased fertility in men associated with anthropogenic pollution is the change of glutathione antioxidant/antitoxic system activity.

Aim. The study of free radical oxidation processes in an experiment on model systems using the anti-inflammatory drug bromfenac (nakwan) widely used in ophthalmology for the treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the anterior chamber of the eye. Methods. The antioxidant capacity of the drug was evaluated by chemiluminescence registration and analysis of model systems that generate reactive oxygen species and reproduce lipid peroxidation processes using the chemiluminomer CL-003. The following parameters of spontaneous and induced chemiluminescence were determined: light sum and maximum luminescence amplitude, duration of latent period, amplitude of fast and slow flash. Results. When tested in vitro in two different model systems, a high antioxidant activity of the studied drug was established, up to complete suppression of chemiluminescence when 90 μg of bromfenac was added to the incubation medium, which characterizes the inhibition of the generation of reactive oxygen species. A significant increase in total antioxidant activity with bromfenac was also demonstrated, which is reflected by the integral parameter of chemiluminescence — light sum which decreased with the introduction of 10 μg of the drug by 1.2 times, and with 90 μg by 1.5 times. A comparative analysis of the antioxidant properties of various nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used in ophthalmic practice demonstrated a more pronounced efficacy of bromfenac compared to ketorolac, the use of which was not accompanied by statistically significant changes in chemiluminescence. A very important mechanism of the positive effect of bromfenac is the direct dependence of the action on its quantity in the reaction medium, which opens up prospects for the controlled correction of free radical phenomena and the excessive activation of lipid peroxidation in the imbalance of the pro- and antioxidant processes in biological systems. Conclusion. It is suggested that the protective effects of the drug in various infectious-inflammatory lesions of the eye can be determined, along with previously known properties, its antioxidant activity, restriction of increased production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress phenomena.