Andrology
Boar spermatozoa are sensitive to storage temperatures below 15 °C. Chilling injury causes loss of motility and membrane integrity in a minority of cells, whereas the main population displays sublethal changes compromising fertility. In this study, changes of the response to capacitation conditions in hypothermically stored boar spermatozoa have been examined using a kinetic approach with well‐defined...
Excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by an overactive nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase system in penile tissue is an important mechanism of erectile dysfunction (ED). S‐allyl cysteine (SAC), a bioactive component derived from garlic, was recently reported to exert versatile antioxidant properties. We hypothesized that SAC would be able to resolve diabetes‐related...
It remains unknown whether human papillomaviruses (HPVs) or human herpesviruses (HHVs) in semen affect sperm DNA integrity. We investigated whether the presence of these viruses in semen was associated with an elevated sperm DNA fragmentation index. Semen from 76 sperm donors was examined by a PCR‐based hybridization array that identifies all HHVs and 35 of the most common HPVs. Sperm DNA integrity...
Spermiogenesis is the final phase of spermatogenesis. During this process, haploid round spermatids differentiate into spermatozoa, with dramatic morphological changes, including elongation and condensation of the nuclei, and formation of the flagella. Meig1 is one of many genes involved in the regulation of this process. Male mice deficient in MEIG1 are sterile with a severe defect in spermiogenesis,...
Great advances in tissue androgen analysis using liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) have made it possible to evaluate the tissue androgen content from a single needle prostate biopsy specimen. In this study, we investigated if pre‐treatment androgen content in prostate biopsy specimens could predict their response to primary androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) and future castration‐resistant...
Several studies have investigated temporal trends in semen quality in Northern Europe, but none has examined this question in Southern Europe. A prior study conducted in Almeria Province (Southern Spain) reported higher sperm count and concentration among Spanish young men recruited from 2001 to 2002 compared with young men from Northern Europe. The aim of this new study was to examine whether semen...
Mice with repro27 exhibit fully penetrant male‐specific infertility associated with a nonsense mutation in the golgin subfamily A member 3 gene (Golga3). GOLGA3 is a Golgi complex‐associated protein implicated in protein trafficking, apoptosis, positioning of the Golgi and spermatogenesis. In repro27 mutant mice, a point mutation in exon 18 of the Golga3 gene that inserts a pre‐mature termination...
Testosterone is the major precursor of estradiol (E2) in men. We hypothesized that, in metastatic prostate cancer, androgen deprivation therapy suppression of serum androgen to the castration level may also disrupt serum E2 level, and variation in serum E2 level might play a role in the development of castration‐resistant prostate cancer. Our investigation was designed to observe the variation in...
Ejaculates from nine Asian and two African elephants were analysed to gain a further understanding of mechanisms underlying variable semen quality after transrectal massage. Semen analysis was performed after collection (0 h; subjective motility parameters only) and after 24 h of chilled storage at 10 °C (24 h; all ejaculate and sperm characteristics). Ejaculates with ≤50% total motility (TM) at 24 h,...
Sertoli cell only (SCO) syndrome is the predominant histology for men with non‐obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and is usually of unexplained aetiology. Studies in mouse models indicated that the X‐linked gene glucocorticoid‐induced leucine zipper (GILZ) is essential for survival and differentiation of spermatogonia, and meiosis. GILZ deficiency results in a rapid and progressive loss of germ cells with...
Seminoma and non‐seminoma tumours increasingly occur within the western population. These tumours originate from carcinoma in situ (CIS) cells, which arise from dysfunctional gonocytes. CXCL12 and its receptors, CXCR4 and CXCR7, have been implicated in migration, proliferation and survival of gonocytes and their precursors and progeny, primordial germ cells and spermatogonial stem cells respectively...
During the last phase of spermatogenesis, called spermiogenesis, the nucleosome‐based chromatin structure is replaced by a protamine‐based DNA packaging. Not much is known about the chromatin remodelling involved in humans and animals. Here, we have investigated initiation of chromatin remodelling over seven probands of which five were diagnosed with non‐obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and two with...
The relationship between testosterone, well‐being and mood is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of testosterone supplementation on mood, well‐being, and self‐reported health in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and low serum testosterone levels. This was a randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT00512707), in which 140 men, 40–70 years,...
The aetiology of severe asthenozoospermia in men with spinal cord injury includes an adverse impact of seminal plasma (SP) on sperm motility. In this study we investigated the effect exerted by SP from men with SCI on donor sperm mitochondrial activity and its reflection on motility. Donor spermatozoa were exposed (1 h) to SP from 22 ejaculates of men with SCI. Only SP from samples exhibiting both...
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that may arise from diet habits and is growing to epidemic proportions. Young male diabetic patients present high infertility/subfertility prevalence resulting from impaired reproductive function and poor semen quality. We aimed to evaluate the effects of a high‐energy diet (HED) on glucose tolerance/insulin levels and correlate the observed effects on male...
There is a lack of information about the importance of fatty acid composition of the human sperm membranes and seminal plasma in the cryopreservation procedure. Our aims were to study the possible relationships between the fatty acid composition of human spermatozoa or seminal fluid before freezing, and the sperm quality, measured in terms of viability and motility, before and after freezing–thawing...
We report the results of the first three trials of an external quality control (EQC) programme performed in 71 laboratories executing semen analysis in Tuscany Region (Italy). At the end of the second trial, participants were invited to attend a teaching course illustrating and inviting to adhere to procedures recommended by WHO (V edition). Results of the first three trials of the EQC documented...
The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) parameter DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) is a valuable tool for prediction of fertility in vivo. Clinical data show that a DFI above 30% is associated with very low chance for achieving pregnancy by natural conception or by insemination. Already when DFI is above 20% the chance of natural pregnancy is reduced, this despite normal conventional semen parameters...
Research in the last decade has revealed that bone is not only a target tissue for numerous circulating hormones but functions as an endocrine organ itself. As a recent study demonstrated a stimulatory effect of the osteoblast‐derived hormone osteocalcin (OCN) on testosterone production in mice, we investigated whether such an association can be replicated in humans. We used data from 1338 men (25–86 years)...
In this study, we assessed the effect of seasonal variation on the semen quality in Chinese by using the average highest temperature (AHT) of the ejaculation day for partitioning season periods. A total of 13 635 semen samples were collected and analysed according to the AHT of the ejaculation day. Semen volume, sperm concentration and the percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology in midsummer...