Evaluation of the functional state of male accessory glands by the analysis of seminal plasma

Male accessory gland inflammation prevalence in type 2 diabetic patients with symptoms possibly reflecting autonomic neuropathy

Male accessory gland inflammation or infection (MAGI) is a potentially underdiagnosed complication of type 2 diabetes (DM2); specifically, we reported in a recent study that the frequency of MAGI was 43% among DM2 patients. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that diabetic autonomic neuropathy (DAN) is associated with a peculiar ultrasound characterization of the seminal vesicles (SVs) in DM2 patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of MAGI in two different categories of DM2 patients (i.e. patients with and without symptoms that possibly reflect DAN) and the respective ultrasound characterizations. Sixty DM2 patients with a mean (± s.e.m.) age of 42.0 ± 6.0 years (range: 34-47 years) were classified according to the presence or the absence of symptoms that could possibly reflect DAN (group A: DM2 with symptoms possibly reflecting DAN, n = 28 patients and group B: DM2 without symptoms possibly reflecting DAN, n = 32 patients). The patients in Group A exhibited a significantly higher frequency of MAGI compared with those in group B patients (P < 0.05); moreover, the Group A patients exhibited a significantly higher frequency of ultrasound signs suggestive of vesiculitis (P < 0.05). Finally, the concentrations of lymphocytes but not the concentrations of the leukocytes in the semen were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in group A compared with group B.

Identification of fatty acids in canine seminal plasma

Seminal plasma contains various biochemical components associated with sperm function. However, there is limited information regarding the fatty acid composition of seminal plasma and their effect on sperm. The aim of this study was to identify the fatty acid content in canine seminal plasma using gas chromatography. Twelve ejaculates were studied, the seminal plasma was obtained by centrifugation and then the lipids were extracted, methylated and analysed by chromatography. The total lipids in the seminal plasma were 2.5 ± 0.3%, corresponding to 85% saturated fatty acids (SFA) and 15% unsaturated fatty acids (UFA). The greatest proportions of SFA were palmitic acid (30.4%), stearic acid (23.4%) and myristic acid (5.3%) and of UFA oleic acid (9.0%). Therefore, the protocols and techniques used enabled the identification of 18 different fatty acids in canine seminal plasma, which constitutes a good method to evaluate and quantify the fatty acid profile in this species.

Seminal vesicles and diabetic neuropathy: ultrasound evaluation after prolonged treatment with a selective phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor

We have previously reported that infertile patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have a particular ultrasound features of the seminal vesicles (SV) characterized by higher fundus-to-body ratio and lower pre- and post-ejaculatory difference in body antero-posterior diameter (APD). Based on these premises the aim of the present study was to investigate possible ultrasound SV changes in infertile patients with DM and diabetic neuropathy (DN), after prolonged administration of tadalafil (TAD) (a specific phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor). To accomplish this, 20 infertile patients with symptomatic DN and erectile dysfunction were selected and arbitrarily divided into two groups which were assigned to: daily administration of 5 mg TAD for 3 months (Group A) (n = 10) and administration of placebo (Group B) (n = 10). All patients underwent to scrotal and prostate-vesicular transrectal ultrasound evaluation and semen analysis (Laboratory Manual for the Examination and Processing of Human Semen, WHO, 2010) before and after treatment. The following SV US parameters were recorded: (i) body APD; (ii) fundus APD; (iii) parietal thickness of the right and left SVs; and (iv) number of polycyclic areas within both SVs. We then calculated the following parameters: (i) fundus/body (F/B) ratio; (ii) difference of the parietal thickness between the right and the left SV and (iii) pre- and post-ejaculatory APD difference. In addition, we also evaluated the SV ejection fraction. Group A patients showed a significant reduction in F/B ratio and higher pre- and post-ejaculatory body SV APD difference compared with baseline or Group B after 3 months. These patients showed also a significant increase in SV ejection fraction and a significant improvement of the total sperm count, progressive motility, seminal levels of fructose, leucocytes and ejaculate volume. In conclusion, these results suggest that infertile DM patients with DN and erectile dysfunction had an improvement of ultrasound features suggestive of diabetic neuropathy after daily treatment with low doses of TAD.

Association between kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) and macroscopic indicators of semen analysis: their relation to sperm motility

Human kallikrein-related peptidases (KLKs) are a family of proteases, the majority of which are found in seminal plasma and have been implicated in semen liquefaction. Here, we examined the clinical value of seminal KLKs in the evaluation of semen quality and differential diagnosis and etiology of abnormal liquefaction and/or viscosity. KLK1–3, 5–8, 10, 11, 13, and 14 were analyzed, using highly specific ELISA assays. Samples were categorized into four clinical groups, according to their state of liquefaction and viscosity. Data were compared between the clinical groups and in association with other parameters of sperm quality, including number of motile sperms, straight line speed, sperm concentration, volume, pH, and patient age. Seminal KLKs were found to be differentially expressed in the four clinical groups. Combination of KLK2, 3, 13, and 14 and KLK1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, and 14 showed very strong discriminatory potential for semen liquefaction and viscosity, respectively. Liquefaction state was associated with several parameters of sperm motility. Finally, KLK14 was differentially expressed in asthenospermic cases. In conclusion, the expression level of several seminal plasma KLKs correlates with liquefaction and viscosity indicators of semen quality and may aid in their differential diagnosis and etiology.

Toward using stable spermatozoal RNAs for prognostic assessment of male factor fertility

OBJECTIVE

To establish the stability of spermatozoal RNAs as a means to validate their use as a male fertility marker.

DESIGN

Semen samples were randomly selected for 1 of 3 cryopreservation treatments.

SETTING

An academic research environment.

PATIENT(S)

Men aged 19 to 55 years who had fathered a child by natural conception within the past 6 months.

INTERVENTION(S)

Ejaculates were collected by masturbation and total spermatozoan RNA was isolated from two semen samples of ideal quality; one sample of medium quality, having been subjected to an additional freeze-thaw cycle, and two samples of poor quality, having been subjected to a third freeze-thaw cycle.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Labeled cDNAs were generated and then used to interrogate Atlas Nylon Human Toxicology 1.2 microarrays. The spermatozoan transcriptomes were compared using a binomial approach.

RESULT(S)

The analysis identified a total of 228 unique spermatozoal transcripts among all samples. The medium quality sample shared 98% and 39% of its RNAs with the ideal and poor quality samples, respectively. A set of 36 RNAs resistant to insult were observed, some of which have been implicated in regulating male fertility, when all individuals were compared.

CONCLUSION(S)

These results support the view that a population of spermatozoal RNAs is rapidly degraded in response to insult, whereas another population appears protected from such damage. Because spermatozoal RNAs echo the gene expression of spermatogenesis, the latter is likely to prove useful as a clinical maker of fertility status.

Sperm parameter abnormalities, low seminal fructose and reactive oxygen species overproduction do not discriminate patients with unilateral or bilateral post-infectious inflammatory prostato-vesiculo-epididymitis

We have shown that patients with prostato-vesiculo-epididymitis (PVE) have the worst sperm output compared to patients with prostato-vesiculitis or prostatitis alone. The present study was undertaken to closely examine whether unilateral or bilateral PVE had a different impact on sperm parameters, seminal fructose levels and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction. To accomplish this, 78 patients with persistent post-infectious inflammatory PVE, clearly identified by scrotal and transrectal ultrasonography, and 30 patients with asymptomatic post-infectious inflammatory prostatitis (control group) underwent semen analysis (including seminal leukocyte concentration and number of spermiophagies), seminal fructose measurement and sperm ROS production from 45 and 90% Percoll fractions. Fifty patients turned out to have PVE bilaterally, whereas the remaining 28 had unilateral PVE. Patients with bilateral PVE had sperm concentration and total sperm number significantly lower than those found in patients with unilateral PVE. The other sperm parameters, the physicochemical properties (hyperviscosity, the presence of nonspecific agglutination, delayed liquefaction), seminal fructose levels and ROS production in both 45 and 90% Percoll fractions turned out similar between the two groups. Patients with bilateral or unilateral PVE had sperm parameters, seminal fructose levels and ROS production significantly worst than those found in patients with prostatitis alone. In conclusion, although patients with bilateral PVE had a decreased number of spermatozoa, the other sperm parameters and seminal fructose levels did not reflect the extension of PVE. Therefore, the diagnosis of unilateral or bilateral involvement of this complicated form of male accessory gland infection relies on scrotal and transrectal ultrasonography.

Structural and biochemical characteristics of the male accessory organs of reproduction in the hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons),

A description is given of the male reproductive tract in the South Australian marsupial, the hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons ; the study was based mainly on material obtained from animals shot in the field during the period October-December, but a few observations on captive wombats are also reported. The testes, located in a pre-penile scrotum, contained in the region of the ductuli efferentes a characteristic pigment, which occasionally extended as far as the caput epididymidis. The cauda epididymidis was enclosed within a separate pocket formed by the tunica vaginalis. The ductus deferens had no ampulla. The penis, bifid at the tip, was held in an S-bend position by the retractor penis muscles. The male accessory apparatus was of a highly complex type. In addition to the carrot-shaped prostate gland with three clearly discernible portions (anterior, central and posterior), three other pairs of glands were identified, which for the purpose of the present study have been designated as ‘Cowper’s glands’ ( A , B , and C ) without implying, however, that they are strictly analogous to the Cowper’s gland of eutherian mammals. Chemical examination of the male accessory glands led to the identification of a number of chemical substances, including fructose, sorbitol, glycogen, glucose, inositol, glycerol, citric acid, sialic acid, N -acetylglucosamine and N -acetylgalactosamine. The three most characteristic constituents of the anterior, central and posterior segments of the prostate gland were sorbitol, fructose and glycogen, respectively; the central and posterior segment of the prostate contained also some glucose and N -acetylhexosamine. Citric acid was shown to occur at high concentration in the Cowper’s gland A while the C gland was characteristically rich in sialic acid. A description is given of spermatozoa which had been recovered from the urine.