ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the impact of Staphylococcus aureus from infertile men on sperm motility and the relationship between virulence genes and the activity of spermatozoal immobilization.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We collected 60 strains of non-repeated Staphylococcus aureus from the semen of 589 infertile males and analyzed the influence of Staphylococcus aureus on sperm motility using the computer-aided sperm analysis system. We selected the strains that apparently decreased sperm motility and detected their virulence genes by PCR.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Sperm motility was significantly decreased in 17 of the 60 strains of Staphylococcus aureus (P < 0.05). The main virulence genes in these strains were hlg (33.3%), scn (23.3%), cna (20%), hlb (20%), and clfA (18.3%), others including icaA, fnbA, tst, seb, hld, eta and sea. The scn gene carriers accounted for 47.1% in the spermatozal immobilization positive group, significantly higher than 14% in the negative group (P < 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in the percentages of the carriers of the other virulence genes between the two groups (P > 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Infections of Staphylococcus aureus in male reproductive system can lead to the decrease of sperm motility, which may be associated with the Staphylococcus complement inhibitor encoding gene scn.</p>