Abstract:

Objective To explore the effects of microwave radiation exposure on male reproductive health and the therapeutic effect of Astragaloside IV（AsIV） on radiation. Methods A convenience sampling method was used to conduct a questionnaire survey，with male patients who first visited the reproductive medicine center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Air Force Medical University from June to December 2023 as the survey subjects. Based on the results of the questionnaire，the study participants were divided into 3 groups：low，medium，high radiation group（56，135 and 67 people，respectively）. Basic data，semen parameters， hormone levels， and oxidative stress levels were recorded in every groups，while sperm apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry. Sperm from the high-radiation group were co-incubated with different concentrations of AsIV，and the mRNA expression of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2/hemeoxy genase-1（Nrf2/HO-1） was determined by qRT-PCR. Results Compared with the low radiation group，the sperm concentration[（68.56±52.15）×10⁶/mL vs（36.75±30.36）×10⁶/mL]，total sperm count[（158.28±102.17）×10⁶/mL vs（95.46±82.58）×10⁶/mL] and testosterone concentration[（6.27±2.58）ng/mL vs（2.16±1.68）ng/mL] in the high radiation group were significantly lower，the progressive motile sperm and total viability in both medium and high radiation group were significantly reduced，the sperm apoptosis level in the medium and high radiation group were significantly increased，and the differences were statistically significant（all P<0.05）. Comparing the serum oxidative stress levels of patients in different radiation groups，compared with the low radiation group，the high radiation group showed a significant increase in ROS levels[（87.45±16.23）ng/mL vs（134.35±23.14）ng/mL] and a decrease in total antioxidant capacity（T-AOC） levels[（30.04±8.56）IU/mL vs（23.12±5.06）IU/mL]，and the differences were statistically significant（both P<0.05）. Compared with the low radiation group，the mRNA expression levels of sperm Nrf2 and HO-1 in the high radiation group were significantly reduced，and the differences were statistically significant（both P<0.05）. Compared with the high radiation group，the mRNA expression levels of sperm Nrf2 and HO-1 were significantly increased in the low AsIV groups and high AsIV groups，and the differences were statistically different（both P<0.05）， and the effect was more significant in the high AsIV group. Conclusion Microwave radiation can cause reproductive damage in men，and the degree of damage is positively correlated with the intensity of radiation. AsIV has a dose-dependent therapeutic effect against radiation-induced reproductive damage，probably through activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway.

Key words: Microwave radiation, Male infertility, Astragaloside IV, Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway, Oxidative stress