Testicular fine-needle aspiration in infertile men with absolute non-obstructive azoospermia: A single-centre cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The methodology of surgically extracted sperm cells in fertility treatments remains debated, mainly due to the lack of data evaluating its predictive value on treatment outcomes. AIM: To gain insight into the effectiveness of testicular fine-needle aspiration (TEFNA) in a cohort of infertile men with absolute non-obstructive azoospermia and to examine whether the number of retrieved sperm cells affects the fertilisation rate. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 89 infertile men, aged 26-47, meticulously diagnosed with non-obstructive azoospermia, participated in the study. All participants underwent TEFNA. The primary outcome measure was the TEFNA success rate in retrieving mature sperm. The secondary outcome measures included fertilisation rate, clinical pregnancy rates, and live births associated with the retrieved sperm. RESULTS: Sperm cells were successfully retrieved from 40 out of 89 patients (45%) with no significant postoperative complications. Retrieval of up to ten sperm cells occurred in 11 procedures (25%); ten procedures (22.7%) resulted in producing dozens of sperm cells, and 100s to 1000s of sperm cells were obtained from the remainder of 23 procedures (52.3%). Patients whose TEFNA resulted in only a few sperm cells had a much lower fertilisation rate (16.6%) than the other two groups (40.1% and 47.2%, respectively, P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The utilisation of TEFNA for sperm extraction in men with non-obstructive azoospermia is a simple, fast-learning, effective, and safe treatment option. In cases where sperm retrieval was successful, the fertilisation rate was strongly related to the number of sperm cells obtained.

Enantioselective effects of (+)- and (-)-citronellal on animal and plant microtubules.

Citronellal is a major component of Corymbia citriodora and Cymbopogon nardus essential oils. Herein it is shown that whereas (+)-citronellal (1) is an effective microtubule (MT)-disrupting compound, (-)-citronellal (2) is not. Quantitative image analysis of fibroblast cells treated with 1 showed total fluorescence associated with fibers resembling that in cells treated with the MT-disrupting agents colchicine and vinblastine; in the presence of 2, the fluorescence more closely resembled that in control cells. The distribution of tubulin in soluble and insoluble fractions in the presence of 1 also resembled that in the presence of colchicine, whereas similar tubulin distribution was obtained in the presence of 2 and in control cells. In vitro polymerization of MTs was inhibited by 1 but not 2. Measurements of MT dynamics in plant cells showed similar MT elongation and shortening rates in control and 2-treated cells, whereas in the presence of 1, much fewer and shorter MTs were observed and no elongation or shrinkage was detected. Taken together, the MT system is suggested to be able to discriminate between different enantiomers of the same compound. In addition, the activity of essential oils rich in citronellal is affected by the relative content of the two enantiomers of this monoterpenoid.

Rac-dependent doubling of HeLa cell area and impairment of cell migration and cell cycle by compounds from Iris germanica.

Plants are an infinite source of bioactive compounds. We screened the Israeli flora for compounds that interfere with the organization of the actin cytoskeleton. We found an activity in lipidic extract from Iris germanica that was able to increase HeLa cell area and adhesion and augment the formation of actin stress fibers. This effect was not observed when Ref52 fibroblasts were tested and was not the result of disruption of microtubules. Further, the increase in cell area was Rac1-dependent, and the iris extract led to slight Rac activation. Inhibitor of RhoA kinase did not interfere with the ability of the iris extract to increase HeLa cell area. The increase in HeLa cell area in the presence of iris extract was accompanied by impairment of cell migration and arrest of the cell cycle at G1 although the involvement of Rac1 in these processes is not clear. Biochemical verification of the extract based on activity-mediated fractionation and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis revealed that the active compounds belong to the group of iridals, a known group of triterpenoid. Purified iripallidal was able to increase cell area of both HeLa and SW480 cells.