Predictors of testicular sperm retrieval in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia: a review.

Azoospermia is divided into two categories of obstructive azoospermia and non-obstructive azoospermia. Before 1995, couples with a male partner diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermia had to choose sperm donation or adoption to have a child. Currently, testicular sperm aspiration or micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction combined with intracytoplasmic sperm injection allows patients with non-obstructive azoospermia to have biological offspring. The sperm retrieval rate is significantly higher in micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction compared with testicular sperm aspiration. Additionally, micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction has the advantages of minimal invasion, safety, limited disruption of testicular function, a low risk of postoperative intratesticular bleeding, and low serum testosterone concentrations. Failed micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction has significant emotional and financial implications on the involved couples. Testicular sperm aspiration and micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction have the possibility of failure. Therefore, predicting the sperm retrieval rate before surgery is important. This narrative review summarizes the existing data on testicular sperm aspiration and micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction to identify the possible factor(s) that can predict the presence of sperm to guide clinical practice. The predictors of surgical sperm retrieval in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia have been widely studied, but there is no consensus.

Protective effects of IL-4 on Bacillus Calmette-Guerin and lipopolysaccharide induced immunological liver injury in mice.

OBJECTIVE: Mice injected with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) were challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammatory liver injury. This study was performed to explore the protective effects of interleukin (IL)-4 against liver injury induced by BCG and LPS in mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice injected with BCG (125 mg/kg) were challenged with LPS (10 µg/kg) to induce the model of inflammatory liver injury. Half an hour after injection of LPS, mice were subcutaneously administered rmIL-4 at 5 and 0.5 µg/kg, respectively. Liver injury was evaluated by serum transaminase assay and H & E staining. Liver cytokine concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and intrahepatic cytokine and iNOS mRNA levels by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Intrahepatic apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase mediated nick end labeling. NF-κB p65 and ERK signal pathway was detected by Western-blotting. NF-κB signal pathway was also detected by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. RESULTS: IL-4 reduced the serum ALT, AST and LDH, alleviated the inflammatory cells infiltration, down regulated the expression of TNF-α, IL-1ß, IFN-γ, IL-6 and iNOS mRNA in liver, and alleviated hepatic glutathione depletion (GSH). In addition, IL-4 displayed inhibition of extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation and NF-κB activation. CONCLUSION: IL-4 may protect mice against BCG/LPS-induced immune liver injury, besides ERK and NF-κB signal pathways were involved in the effects.