Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes in male infertility.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Mammalian spermatozoa are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and are very susceptible to attack by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and membrane lipid peroxide ion. Normally a balance is maintained between the amount of ROS produced and that scavenged. Cellular damage arises when this equilibrium is disturbed. A shift in the levels of ROS towards pro-oxidants in semen and vaginal secretions can induce an oxidative stress on spermatozoa. The aim was to study lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and to correlate the same, with the 'water test', in male infertility. SETTINGS: Experimental study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ejaculates from a total of 83 infertile and fertile healthy individuals were obtained. Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme levels were studied and correlated with water test. RESULTS: The results indicate that (i) the antioxidant enzyme catalase showed no significant changes in the various pathological samples, (ii) antioxidant enzymes SOD and glutathione peroxidase correlate positively with asthenozoospermic samples and (iii) the degree of lipid peroxidation also correlates positively with the poorly swollen sperm tails. The increase in SOD and glutathione peroxidase values, in the pathological cases represents an attempt made to overcome the reactive oxygen species. CONCLUSION: Water test could be used as a preliminary marker test for sperm tail damage by reactive oxygen species, since it correlates very well with lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes.

Correlation between creatine kinase activity, lipid-peroxidation and water test in male infertility.

New approaches need to be pursued towards the assessment of sperm quality using biochemical markers. In order to help develop a good biochemical marker to assess sperm-membrane integrity, the enzyme creatine kinase (CK) was studied in semen of normal, oligospermic and azoospermic samples and correlated with sperm concentration, lipid-peroxidation (LP) and water test. Presence of isoforms of creatine kinase (CK-MB) was also seen. An inverse correlation was observed between CK activity and sperm concentration (p<0.001). Water test was seen to be inversely correlated with CK activity (p<0. 001). Lipid peroxidation showed positive correlation with CK activity (p<0.001). A significant correlation between loss of sperm function meditated by induction of peroxidative damage to sperm plasma membrane is indicated. Enzymes like CK can serve as good biochemical marker along with lipid peroxidation to confirm loss of sperm membrane integrity. The water test can be used as a preliminary screening test for sperm membrane integrity.

Seminal profiles of lysosomal enzymes in normal and infertile men.

Human seminal plasma is known to possess considerable proteolytic activity, much of which is associated with lysosomes. The activities of lysosomal hydrolases like alkaline proteinase, cathepsin-D, aryl-sulfatase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase in seminal plasma from randomly chosen infertile and vasectomised men have been compared. These enzymes have been implicated in the coagulation and liquefaction processes. The role of fructose and proteins in these processes has also been studied. The results indicate that cathepsin-D and aryl-sulfatase activity in infertile men were significantly lower than normo-spermic subjects. N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase was lowest in azoospermia suggesting that it could be used as a biochemical marker for azoospermia. Conversely, alkaline proteinase showed increased levels in all the infertile cases.

Clinical utility of serum thyroglobulin in metastatic disease.

We examined the usefulness of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) levels in 196 patients with metastatic disease. Of these, 51 patients had a thyroidal primary (40 differentiated, 7 medullary and 4 undifferentiated), 35 patients had a nonthyroidal primary and in 110 patients the primary site was not known. Serum Tg was raised in 74.5 per cent (38 of 51) patients with carcinoma of the thyroid and in 92.5 per cent (37 of 40) patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). Twelve (34.3%) patients with proved nonthyroidal malignancies and 34 (30.9%) patients with unknown primary origin had elevated serum Tg levels. Of the 110 patients with unknown primary site thyroidal primary in 10 patients (all with elevated serum Tg levels) and nonthyroidal primary in 38 patients (7 had raised serum Tg levels) could be established. The sensitivity (for DTC) and the specificity (for nonthyroidal primary) of serum Tg estimation were 94.0 per cent (47 of 50) and 74.0 per cent (54 of 73) respectively and for patients with distant metastases were 100 (29 of 29) and 85.1 per cent (40 of 47) respectively. The positive and the negative predictive values of serum Tg were 71.2 (47 of 66) and 94.7 per cent (54 of 57) respectively and for patients with distant metastases were 80.6 (29 of 36) and 100 per cent (40 of 40) respectively. Our findings suggest that for patients presenting with metastases (particularly distant metastases) of an unknown primary site, serum Tg estimation is of great value to identify or rule out the involvement of the thyroid as the primary organ.

Filter paper blood spot test for detection of anti-ND-BSA antibodies in school children.

For identifying individuals at 'high risk' for developing leprosy, a simplified technique of collection of blood samples on filter paper for detection of anti -ND-BSA antibodies, was optimised. Anti-ND-BSA antibody reactivity on the filter paper was lost on storage at room temperature, but was stable at least for a period of 8 wk at lower temperature. Among the 1495 children screened, 166 (11.1%) were lepromin negative and 122 (8.2%) positive for anti-ND-BSA antibody. In the first phase, 7 of 871 children followed up for 2 yr developed leprosy, while in the second phase 2 of 624 children followed-up for 9 yr developed leprosy. The positivity and negativity of anti-ND-BSA antibodies and lepromin in these I children indicate that the positive status for anti-ND-BSA antibodies has a better predictive value than negative lepromin reactivity. Measurement of anti-ND-BSA antibodies was also of value for monitoring the efficacy of therapy and course of the disease. Extrapolation of the two tests to the total population of children evaluated showed that an individual with negative lepromin reactivity along with presence of anti-ND-BSA antibodies is at a higher risk for developing leprosy than those who have both the tests normal. Lepromin reactivity alone was not of much value for the prediction for development of the disease. However, the presence of anti-ND-BSA antibody was a better indicator for the development of the disease. The probability of developing leprosy in a child with any one of the tests abnormal was higher as compared to a child having all the tests normal.

TSH receptors in human thyroid tumours.

To evaluate the binding of human TSH (h-TSH) to various human thyroid tumours using radio receptor assay technique, 26 thyroid tumour specimens were examined. Five specimens did not show displacement by stable h-TSH. A wide variation was observed in B0, non specific binding, affinity and capacity of TSH in all the tumours examined. The Scatchard analysis of the binding of h-TSH to thyroid membranes suggested the presence of the receptors in 57.7 per cent (15 of 26, Ka much greater than 10(9)) and more than one component in 46 per cent (12 of 26) of the tumours studied. There was no consistent pattern of the binding of TSH for thyroid tissue with respect to its pathology. However, with 35 pairs of observations log affinity appeared to be linearly related to log capacity with a slope -0.95, intercept 9.96 and r value -0.93.