Role of microRNAs in erectile dysfunction: An update / 中华男科学杂志

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs consisting of approximately 19－23 nucleotides and involved in many pathological and physiological processes by regulating post-transcriptional gene expressions. ED is one of the common male sexual dysfunctions seriously affecting the patient's quality of life, for which there is currently a lack of effective treatments clinically. More and more experiments have demonstrated that miRNAs are involved in the pathological process of different types of ED. This article presents an overview of the progress in the studies of the pathogenic role of miRNAs in ED.

Correlation between expression of Prdx2 protein in human mature spermatozoa and sperm DNA damage / 医学研究生学报

Objective The molecular mechanisms underlying sperm DNA damage remain uncertain. This study aimed to determine the expression difference of Prdx2 protein between normal and damaged sperm DNA,and analyze the correlation between expression of Prdx2 protein in human mature spermatozoa and sperm DNA damage．Methods Semen specimens of sixty-seven male infertility patients were collected．They were separated in three groups according to the sperm DNA damage levels: normal group， slight damage group，and severe damage group．Total protein of human of mature spermatozoa was extracted．The expression of Prdx2 protein was detected by western blotting．The Localization of Prdx2 in spermatozoa was detected by immunofluorescence.Results Comparing the expression of Prdx2 protein with group normal(9.06±1.80), group slight damage(6.32±1.89） and group severe damage（2.87±0.83） decreased by 30.2% and 68.2% respectively (P<0.01).Immunofluorescence showed that Prdx2 was mainly distributed in the mitochondria and nuclear of spermatozoa.Immunofluorescence Results showed that Prdx2 was mainly located in the mitochondria of human sperm midsection and the nucleus region of the sperm head. The expression of Prdx2 in both group slight damage and group severe damage was lower than that in the group normal.The positive Prdx2 response was significantly reduced in group severe damage.The protein expression of Prdx2 was negatively correlated with DFI(r=-0.478,P<0.01), and was positively correlated with progressive motility and total motility(r=0.135、0.128，P<0.01).Conclusion Human sperm Prdx2 protein expression may be involved in protecting sperm DNA and affecting sperm motility by maintaining intracellular redox balance.