Neutral alpha-glucosidase activity is correlated with the location of epididymal obstruction in azoospermia men / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the correlation of neutral alpha-glucosidase in seminal plasma with the location of epididymal obstruction in azoospermia men.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We detected neutral alpha-glucosidase activity in the seminal plasma of 59 men with obstructive azoospermia followed by determining the location of epididymal obstruction by scrotal exploratory surgery. Then we analyzed the correlation between neutral alpha-glucosidase and the location of epididymal obstructive azoospermia.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among the total number of patients, there were 25 cases of bilateral cauda epididymal obstruction, 15 bilateral corpus, 12 bilateral caput, 4 unilateral caput-opposite cauda, and 3 unilateral corpus-opposite cauda. The neutral alpha-glucosidase levels in the seminal plasma of bilateral cauda, corpus and capus epididymal obstructions were (4.1 +/- 1.9), (13.8 +/- 4.4) and (46.8 +/- 19.3) mU per ejaculate, respectively, with statistically significant differences among the three groups (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Neutral alpha-glucosidase activity is significantly correlated with the location of epididymal obstruction in azoospermia men, which helps to locate epididymal obstruction, evaluate surgical prognosis and reduce the time of scrotal exploratory surgery.</p>

Effects of nonylphenol and cadmium on sperm acrosome reaction in vitro in mice / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of nonylphenol and cadmium on acrosome reaction in vitro in mouse spermatozoa.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sperm were collected from the vas deferens of mice, capacitated in vitro and stimulated with A23187 at 30 micromol/L to induce acrosome reaction. Then the sperm suspension was treated with nonylphenol at 10, 20, 30, 60 and 100 micromol/L or cadmium at 500, 2500 and 5 000 micromol/L, and the control group treated with the carrier solvent. Acrosome reaction of the sperm was analyzed by FITC-PSA staining.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Compared with the control group, nonylphenol significantly inhibited acrosome reaction at the concentration of > 60 micromol/L (P < 0.01), but not at < 30 micromol/L (P > 0.05), and the sperm survival rate was reduced with increased concentration of nonylphenol. However, cadmium exhibited no significant influence on either acrosome reaction (P > 0.05) or sperm survival rate at 500 - 5 000 micromol/L.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Nonylphenol and cadmium affect the spermatogenesis of mice in different ways; the former directly inhibits sperm acrosome reaction, while the latter has no direct effect on it.</p>

Studies on dihydrotestosterone-binding capacity in prostate tissue / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of the binding ability of the dihydrotestosterone(DHT) in prostate.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twenty-two normal prostate tissues taken from accident-death corpses without serious diseases, and cytosolic and nuclear fractions were prepared with all the endogenous hormone removed from the cytosolic and nuclear fractions by ether stripping. The content of the bound 3H-DHT was assayed by adding 3H-DHT.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The average DHT-binding capacity of the DHT-binding protein in prostate was (0.0263 +/- 0.0047) nmol/g wet tissue. The DHT-binding capacities of cytosolic and nuclear fractions were (0.0103 +/- 0.0015) nmol/g wet tissue and (0.0155 +/- 0.0035) nmol/g wet tissue respectively, and the difference between them was very significant(P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The DHT-binding capacity of the DHT-binding protein in prostate is high and maintaining the high DHT level facilitates the effect of DHT.</p>