High HPV Infection Prevalence in Men from Infertile Couples and Lack of Relationship between Seminal HPV Infection and Sperm Quality

Abstract

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most frequently sexually transmitted viruses and etiological agents of several human cancers. Controversial results of the role of HPV in infertile population on sperm parameters have been published. The aim of this study was to estimate the type-specific prevalence of HPV DNA infection of the external genitalia and semen in 340 Slovenian men from infertile couples and to establish the relationship between seminal HPV DNA infection and abnormal sperm parameters. Self-taken swabs of the entire penile surface and semen samples were collected, and HPV detection and genotyping were performed. HPV DNA was detected in 37.12% of external genitalia and in 13.61% of semen samples with high HPV type concordance of both sampling sites. The most prevalent HPV types in the male external genitalia were HPV-CP6108 and HPV-84. The most prevalent HPV types in semen were HPV-53 and HPV-CP6108. The prevalence of HPV infection between normozoospermic men and men with abnormal sperm parameters did not differ significantly. Sperm quality did not differ significantly between men with seminal HPV infection and uninfected men. In conclusion, the men from infertile couples are equally susceptible to HPV infection regardless of their fertile potential; seminal HPV infection does not impair sperm quality.

Seminal human papillomavirus originates from the body surface and is not a frequent aetiological factor in azoospermia

“…Human papillomavirus DNA in semen might originate from a male genital tract reservoir or could be a result of contamination of HPV from the skin/mucosa during ejaculation. In agreement with the results of Golob et al () and Luttmer et al (), the control group in this study showed a high prevalence of HPV DNA on genital skin swabs and in semen, and the concordance of HPV genotypes detected in the two locations was high.…”

“…These prevalence rates of more than 60% having HPV on the genital skin as found in this study are higher than the prevalence rates of ~37% found in infertile Slovenian men referred for fertility treatment (Golob et al, ) and ~34% healthy male volunteers from the Netherlands (Luttmer et al, ). The higher prevalence rates found in this study might be explained by geographical differences.…”

“…A few studies have demonstrated an association between seminal HPV DNA analysed by Linear Array HPV and Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization (FISH) and sperm motility (Foresta et al, ; Lai et al, ). However, in other studies, it has not been possible to demonstrate an association between the presence of HPV in the semen and sperm motility (Golob et al, ). Since it was not always possible for the healthy volunteers in this study to deliver the ejaculates within our usual time limits of 1–2 hr, we did not systematically evaluate sperm motility.…”

“…In a Danish study, we detected HPV in the spermatozoa from 16% of human sperm donors, and in 2/3 (10.6%), high‐risk types of HPV were detected (Kaspersen et al, ). Studies have suggested that seminal HPV originates from urogenital tract reservoirs (Damke et al, ) or from genital skin or mucosa (Giovannelli et al, ; Golob et al, ; Luttmer et al, ). Possible seminal “HPV contamination” from the genital skin and mucosa is supported by near associations between HPV types detected in the semen and on genital skin (Golob et al, ; Luttmer et al, ).…”

Overview of the benefits and potential issues of the nonavalent HPV vaccine

“…One study has reported a relationship between viral infection and reduced motility of spermatozoa, supporting a role for the virus as a cause of idiopathic asthenozoospermia. 25 Another study by Golob et al 26…”