Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34584150›Full record

Observational studyScientific reports2021

Effects of common Gram-negative pathogens causing male genitourinary-tract infections on human sperm functions.

Sara Marchiani, Ilaria Baccani, Lara Tamburrino, Giorgio Mattiuz, Sabrina Nicolò, Chiara Bonaiuto, Carmen Panico, Linda Vignozzi, Alberto Antonelli, Gian Maria Rossolini and 2 more

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract readObservational StudyVideo-Audio Media
In one paragraph

Observational study in Scientific reports, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. The impact ofInternational journal of reproductive biomedicine · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Sperm DNA Fragmentation: The Concept and Its Use in Assisted Reproduction.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Review
  12. Article
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  15. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sara MarchianiAndrology, Women's Endocrinology and Gender Incongruence Unit, Careggi Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy. sara.marchiani@unifi.it.
Ilaria BaccaniDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Lara TamburrinoDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Giorgio MattiuzDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Sabrina NicolòDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Chiara BonaiutoDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Carmen PanicoDepartment of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, 50134, Florence, Italy.
Linda VignozziAndrology, Women's Endocrinology and Gender Incongruence Unit, Careggi Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy.
Alberto AntonelliClinical Microbiology and Virology Unit, Florence Careggi University Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy.
Gian Maria RossoliniClinical Microbiology and Virology Unit, Florence Careggi University Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9386-0434
Maria Torcia *Andrology, Women's Endocrinology and Gender Incongruence Unit, Careggi Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy. maria.torcia@unifi.it.
Elisabetta Baldi *Andrology, Women's Endocrinology and Gender Incongruence Unit, Careggi Hospital, 50139, Florence, Italy. elisabetta.baldi@unifi.it.
University of Florence · ITAzienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Male genitourinary tract (MGT) bacterial infections are considered responsible for 15% of male infertility, but the mechanisms underlying decreased semen quality are poorly known. We evaluated in vitro the effect of strains of Gram-negative uropathogenic species (two E.coli strains, three K. pneumoniae strains, P. aeruginosa and E. cloacae) on motility, viability, mitochondrial oxidative status, DNA fragmentation and caspase activity of human spermatozoa. All strains, except P. aeruginosa, reduced significantly sperm motility, with variable effects. Sperm Immobilizing Factor (SIF) was largely responsible for deteriorating effects on sperm motility of E. coli strains since they were completely reverted by knockout of SIF coding recX gene. Sequence alignment for RecX showed the presence of high homologous sequences in K. pneumoniae and E. cloacae but not in P. aeruginosa. These results suggest that, in addition to E.coli, other common uropathogenic Gram-negative bacteria affect sperm motility through RecX products. In addition to sperm motility, the E. coli strain ATCC 35218 also affected sperm viability, and induced caspase activity, oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation suggesting an interspecies variability in the amount and/or type of the produced spermatotoxic factors. In general, our results highlight the need for a careful evaluation of semen infections in the diagnostic process of the infertile man.

Indexed as

AdultGram-Negative BacteriaGram-Negative Bacterial InfectionsHumansInfertility, MaleMaleOxidative StressSemen AnalysisSperm MotilityUrinary Tract Infections

Identifiers

PMID34584150
PMCPMC8478950
OpenAlexW3203343517

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.