MCL1 is a key regulator of steroidogenesis in mouse Leydig cells.

Myeloid cell leukemia-1 (MCL1), an anti-apoptotic member of the BCL2 family, is expressed abundantly in the testis. Previous characterization revealed that MCL1 is expressed exclusively in the Leydig cells in the mouse testis, yet what it does in these cells remains unknown. We therefore analyzed testosterone biosynthesis in isolated primary Leydig cells and the MA-10 cell line, in which MCL1 was knocked down using an siRNA strategy. The mRNA abundance of the steroidogenic genes Star, Cyp11a1, Cyp17a1, Hsd3b1, Srd5a, and the luteinizing hormone/choriogonadotropin receptor Lhcgr were significantly reduced following MCL1 knockdown. Of the two enzymes required for testosterone biosynthesis, STAR and P450 SCC (encoded by Cyp11a1) enzyme abundance was also reduced following Mcl1 siRNA treatment, possibly leading to the reduced production of sex steroid precursors, and testosterone in these knockdown cells. Despite its classification as an anti-apoptosis protein, Mcl1 siRNA treatment did not affect cell survival. Collectively, our findings indicate that MCL1 plays a pivotal role in Leydig-cell steroidogenesis, and might provide novel insights into metabolic regulation in this cell. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 226-235, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Reliability and validity of the Chinese version of The Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To translate the English version of The Premature Ejaculation Diagnostic Tool (PEDT) into Chinese, evaluate its reliability and validity, and analyze its feasibility in the diagnosis of premature ejaculation (PE).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Following the forward-backward translation procedure, we developed the Chinese version of PEDT, which was then revised by andrologists and bilingual linguists. We enrolled subjects with or without PE from 15 urological or andrological clinics in China and obtained the information about their demographic characteristics, PEDT scores, and intra-vaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT). We evaluated the internal consistency of PEDT using Cronbach alpha, was examined its reliability and stability by test-retest analysis, analyzed its correlation with IELT by Spearman correlation analysis, and tested its sensitivity and specificity by receiver operating characteristic ( ROC) analysis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally, 570 PE patients (aged [30.66 ± 7.11] years) and 226 non-PE men (aged [33.01 ± 5.41] years) were recruited, with the mean IELT of (1.34 ± 0.54) min in the former and (11.09 ± 7.5) min in the latter group. The Cronbach's alpha of the Chinese version of PEDT was 0.79, and the test-retest correlation coefficient was 0.75 (P < 0.01). The PEDT score was negatively correlated with IELT (Spearman's p = -0.52, P < 0.01). When the cutoff value of PE diagnosis was defined as 7.5, the sensitivity and specificity of PEDT were 0.80 and 0.78, and when as 8.5, they were 0.72 and 0.89, respectively.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The Chinese version of PEDT was demonstrated to have good internal consistency, reliability, and validity, as well as a high predictability for PE. It can be used as a reliable and convenient tool to screen PE among Chinese men.</p>

Low-dose daily de-escalatory administration of tadalafil for psychological erectile dysfunction / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of low-dose daily de-escalatory administration of tadalafil on psychological erectile dysfunction (ED).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We randomized 84 psychological ED patients into an observation and a control group of equal number to receive low-dose daily de-escalatory administration and on-demand medication of tadalafil, respectively, both for 2 months. We compared the scores on IIEF-5 and erection hardness (EHS) between the two groups before and after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The treatment and follow-up were accomplished for 79 cases, with 5 withdrawals in the control group. The IIEF-5 and EHS scores were remarkably improved in both the observation and control groups after treatment. The rate of therapeutic effectiveness was significantly higher in the observation group than in the control (95.2% vs 86.5%, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Low-dose daily de-escalatory administration of tadalafil is highly effective and even better than on-demand medication of tadalafil for psychological ED.</p>

Low-dose testosterone undecanoate capsules combined with tadalafil for late-onset hypogonadism accompanied with ED / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe the clinical effect of low-dose testosterone undecanoate capsules combined with tadalafil on late-onset hypogonadism (LOH) accompanied with ED.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Ninety cases of LOH accompanied with ED who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into a control group and a combination therapy group, the former treated with tadalafil and the latter with low-dose testosterone undecanoate capsules combined with tadalafil. The LOH symptoms, IIEF-5 scores, sexual encounter profile (SEP) scores, prostate volumes, and the levels of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT) and prostatic specific antigen (PSA) were recorded and compared between the two groups before and after treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The IIEF-5 and SEP scores and the TT and FT levels were 20.6 +/- 3.8, 4.02 +/- 1.08, (15.4 +/- 3.4) nmol/L and (0.391 +/- 0.062) nmol/L, respectively, in the combination therapy group after treatment, significantly higher both than 15.7 +/- 3.9, 1.49 +/- 0.82, (10.1 +/- 1.2) nmol/L and (0.200 +/- 0.045) nmol/L before treatment (P < 0.01) and than 8.6 +/- 3.6, 3.50 +/- 1.21, (10.2 +/- 1.2) nmol/L and (0.210 +/- 0.051) nmol/L in the control group after treatment (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Low-dose testosterone undecanoate capsules combined with tadalafil has a definite clinical effect and no obvious adverse reactions in the treatment of LOH accompanied with ED.</p>

Combination of compound Xuanju capsule and tamoxifen citrate for idiopathic oligozoospermia / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the clinical effects of Compound Xuanju Capsule combined with tamoxifen citrate on the seminal parameters of men with idiopathic oligozoospermia.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We equally assigned 120 men with idiopathic oligozoospermia to receive Compound Xuanju Capsule plus tamoxifen citrate (experiment group) or tamoxifen citrate alone (control group). After 3 months of medication, we compared the concentration and total number of sperm with the baseline, and analyzed the influence of the duration of natural infertility on the therapeutic effect.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Both the concentration and total number of sperm were significantly increased in both the experiment and the control groups after 3 months of medication as compared with the baseline (P < 0.05), and the increases were even more significant in the former than in the latter group (P < 0.05). The therapeutic efficacy was remarkably better in the patients with natural infertility < or = years than in those > 3 years (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Compound Xuanju Capsule combined with tamoxifen citrate produces satisfactory results in the treatment of idiopathic oligozoospermia, and therefore can be used as a first-line therapy for this disease.</p>

Jinleng undershorts palliates varicocele / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Jinleng undershorts on the elevated scrotal temperature induced by varicocele as well as on other clinical symptoms of the disease.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fifty-one varicocele patients received the treatment of wearing Jinleng undershorts for 30 min twice a day for a course of 90 days. Comparisons were made between the scrotal temperatures and other clinical symptoms of varicocele before and after the treatment.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>After 90 days of treatment with Jinleng undershorts, the left scrotal temperature of the varicocele patients was significantly reduced from (32.16 +/- 0.79) degrees C to (31.53 +/- 0.77) degrees C (P < 0.01), and the right scrotal temperature decreased from (31.91 +/- 0.73) degrees C to (31.81 +/- 0.63) degrees C (P > 0.05). Compared with pretreatment, significant improvement was found in such symptoms as wetness, fever and swelling of the scrotum, backache, headache, dizziness, fatigue and anxiety (P < 0.05), as well as in testicular pain (P < 0.01) and IIEF-5 score, which was increased from 15.89 +/- 6.13 to 20.04 +/- 3.87 (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Jinleng undershorts can be used for the treatment of mild and moderate varicocele.</p>