Approximately 9% of couples are infertile, with half of these cases relating to male factors. While many cases of male infertility are associated with genetic and lifestyle factors, approximately 30% of cases are still idiopathic. Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) denote substances identified in the environment for the first time or detected at low concentrations during water quality analysis. Since CEC production and use have increased in recent decades, CECs are now ubiquitous in surface and groundwater. CECs are increasingly observed in human tissues, and parallel reports indicate that semen quality is continuously declining, supporting the notion that CECs may play a role in infertility. This narrative review focuses on several CECs (including pesticides and pharmaceuticals) detected in the nearshore marine environment of False Bay, Cape Town, South Africa, and deliberates their potential effects on male fertility and the offspring of exposed parents, as well as the use of spermatozoa in toxicological studies. Collective findings report that chronic in vivo exposure to pesticides, including atrazine, simazine, and chlorpyrifos, is likely to be detrimental to the reproduction of many organisms, as well as to sperm performance in vitro. Similarly, exposure to pharmaceuticals such as diclofenac and naproxen impairs sperm motility both in vivo and in vitro. These contaminants are also likely to play a key role in health and disease in offspring sired by parents exposed to CECs. On the other side of the double-edged sword, we propose that due to its sensitivity to environmental conditions, spermatozoa could be used as a bioindicator in eco- and repro-toxicology studies.

Considering the challenges surrounding causative factors in male infertility, rather than relying on standard semen analysis, the assessment of sperm subpopulations and functional characteristics essential for fertilization is paramount. Furthermore, the diagnostic value of sperm interactions with biological components in the female reproductive tract may improve our understanding of subfertility and provide applications in assisted reproductive techniques. We investigated the response of two sperm motility subpopulations (mimicking the functionality of potentially fertile and sub-fertile semen samples) to biological substances present in the female reproductive tract. Donor semen was separated via double density gradient centrifugation, isolated into high (HM) and low motile (LM) sperm subpopulations and incubated in human tubal fluid (HTF), capacitating HTF, HD-C medium, progesterone, myo-inositol, dopamine and prolactin. Treated subpopulations were evaluated for vitality, motility percentages and kinematic parameters, hyperactivation, positive reactive oxygen species (ROS), intact mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and acrosome reaction (AR). While all media had a significantly positive effect on the LM subpopulation, dopamine appeared to significantly improve both subpopulations’ functional characteristics. HD-C, progesterone and myo-inositol resulted in increased motility, kinematic and hyperactivation parameters, whereas prolactin and myo-inositol improved the LM subpopulations’ MMP intactness and reduced ROS. Furthermore, progesterone, myo-inositol and dopamine improved the HM subpopulations’ motility parameters and AR. Our results suggest that treatment of sub-fertile semen samples with biological substances present in follicular fluid might assist the development of new strategies for IVF treatment.