{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T15:17:26Z","timestamp":1771946246456,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Knowledge E DMCC","content-domain":{"domain":["kne-publishing.com","knepublishing.com","jri.ir"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JRI"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The association between varicocele and male infertility has always been a subject of ongoing debate. Lactoferrin (LF) belongs to the transferrin family with iron-binding properties and exhibits many beneficial biological properties. The purpose of the current study was to assess seminal levels of LF in infertile oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) men with varicocele.\r\nMethods: Sixty-nine men were allocated into three groups; healthy fertile men (as controls) (n=20), infertile OAT men without varicocele (n=19), and infertile OAT men with varicocele (n=30). All men underwent history taking, genital examination, semen analysis, and determination levels of seminal LF by ELISA method. Statistical analysis was carried out using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by post-hoc analysis\u00a0(Conover) for comparisons involving more than two groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test for comparisons between two groups. Spearman correlation test was used to assess the relationship between variables. The p&gt;0.05 was set as statistically significant.\r\nResults: The median seminal LF level of the healthy fertile controls demonstrated significantly increased levels compared to both groups of infertile OAT men with or without varicocele (p&lt;0.000001). The median seminal LF level of the infertile OAT men with varicocele grade III demonstrated a significant decrease compared to in-fertile OAT men with grade II (p=0.0057). Collectively, seminal LF levels exhibited significant positive correlations with sperm concentration, total sperm motility, and normal sperm morphology.Conclusion: LF can be an imperative seminal biomarker that decreases in infertile OAT men especially if associated with varicocele<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.18502\/jri.v26i2.19437","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,2]],"date-time":"2025-09-02T09:34:25Z","timestamp":1756805665000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/knecrossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessment of Seminal Lactoferrin Levels in Oligoasthenoterato-zoospermic Men with Varicocele"],"prefix":"10.18502","author":[{"given":"Mahmoud F.","family":"Ghaly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Khadiga M.","family":"Abougabal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ayman A.","family":"Allam","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ayad","family":"Palani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taymour","family":"Mostafa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"7770","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,30]]},"container-title":["Journal of Reproduction &amp; Infertility"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/JRI\/article\/download\/19437\/18389","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/JRI\/article\/download\/19437\/18389","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T14:42:30Z","timestamp":1771944150000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/publish.kne-publishing.com\/index.php\/JRI\/article\/view\/19437"},"secondary":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.jri.ir\/article\/140263","label":"UNIVERSITY"}]},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,30]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.18502\/jri.v26i2.19437","relation":{},"ISSN":["2251-676X","2228-5482"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2251-676X","type":"electronic"},{"value":"2228-5482","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,30]]}}}