Background: Theophylline elevates cAMP dependent reac- tions such as sperm motility,however it can also damage sperm DNA integrity. Moreover, zinc sulfate can prevent sperm DNA damages. We investigated the co-administration of theophylline and zinc sulfate on the Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3 genes expres- sion in infertile men with asthenoteratozoospermia. Materials and Methods: 120 asthenoteratozoospermic pa- tients were randomly divided to 4 groups: Placebo, theophyl- line, theophylline + zinc sulfate and zinc sulfate. After 90 days of oral treatment, the sperm parameters were analyzed using the CASA system and the expression of genes was also ana- lyzed using Real-Time PCR at the beginning and the end of trial. Data was analyzed statistically using the Repeated meas- urements ANOVA and the means were considered significantly different at P<0.05. Results: Sperm motility, count and morphology increased sig- nificantly in all three groups compared to the placebo group but this increase was significantly higher in the theophylline + zinc sulfate group than the theophylline and zinc sulfate groups. The expression of Bcl-2 gene increased significantly in the zinc sul- fate group, while it showed a significant reduction in the theo- phylline group compared to the placebo. The expression of Bax and Caspase-3 genes increased significantly in the theophylline group, while it showed a significant reduction in the zinc sulfate group compared to the placebo. There was no significant dif- ference in the expression levels of Bcl-2, Bax and Caspase-3 genes in the theophylline + zinc sulfate group compared to the placebo. Conclusion: The theophylline and zinc sulfate co-administra- tion could improve the sperm parameters and protect the sperm DNA from the undesirable effects of theophylline.
