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Chen M, Cai LY, Yoshida S, Takekoshi S, Kajiwara H, Nishimura N, Wang H, Kato T, Izumi SI, Kato Y. Presence of human herpes virus 1-thymidine kinase in testis of azoospermic infertile herpes-infected patients. Reprod Toxicol 2018; 82:57-62. [PMID: 30282000 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Revised: 09/09/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Infection with human herpes virus 1 (HHV1) is a suspected cause of human male infertility. However, the correlation between HHV1 infection and infertility is still unclear. We have previously generated transgenic rats that ectopically express the HHV1 thymidine kinase gene (HHV1-TK) in post-meiotic spermatids and found they had aberrant spermatogenesis and infertility. Therefore, we hypothesized that human infertility might be caused by HHV1 infection. Here, we examined whether HHV1-TK is expressed in human testis by analyzing the presence of its transcript and protein. Specimens were collected by biopsy from 30 azoospermic infertile male patients. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry showed that 23 patients were positive for HHV1-TK expression, while seven patients were negative. Thus, we demonstrated HHV1-TK expression, indicating HHV1 infection, in the testis of human azoospermic infertile males for the first time; our findings represent a great advancement toward the verification of our hypothesis that HHV1-TK expression might cause human infertility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mo Chen
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Institute for Endocrinology, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan
| | - Li-Yi Cai
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Institute for Endocrinology, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Department of Reproductive Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi Hospital for Maternal and Children Health Care of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province 214002, China
| | - Saishu Yoshida
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Institute for Endocrinology, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Gene Regulation, Department of Life Science, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan
| | - Susumu Takekoshi
- Department of Molecular Life Science, Division of Basic Medical Science, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Kajiwara
- Department of Pathology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Isehara 259-1193, Japan
| | - Naoto Nishimura
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan
| | - HongHua Wang
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi Hospital for Maternal and Children Health Care of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province 214002, China
| | - Takako Kato
- Institute for Endocrinology, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan
| | - Shun-Ichiro Izumi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Kanagawa 259-1193, Japan
| | - Yukio Kato
- Division of Life Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Institute for Endocrinology, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan; Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Gene Regulation, Department of Life Science, Meiji University, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 214-8571, Japan.
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