Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010125
A. Hamada, Aspinder Singh, A. Agarwal
Today, cell phone technology is an integral part of everyday life and its use is not only restricted to voice conversations but also conveying news, high resolution pictures and internet. However, these advances in technology are accompanied by progressive boost in the intensity and frequency of the emitted electromagnetic waves without consideration of their health consequences. Our bodies act as parasitic antennas that receive these waves and convert them into electric and magnetic fields. While thermal effects at the present level of cell phone radiation are negligible, most of the biological interactions are attributed to non-thermal effects. Male reproductive system is highly compartmentalized and sensitive biological system that requires the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to properly function. The generated electrical currents may alter the hormonal milieu and testicular microenvironment, necessary for sperm production. Additionally, sperm are electrically active cells and their exposure to cell phone electromagnetic waves and currents may affect their motility, morphology and even their count. Leaky plasma membranes, calcium depletion and oxidative stress are the postulated cellular mechanisms mediating the harmful effects of cell phones radiation on sperm and male fertility potentials. Evidences for such impacts come from designed animal and in vitro studies which may be different from in vivo human exposure. Nevertheless, the important advice is to apply strict regulations on further increase in the power density of the emitted cell phone radiation and to conduct in vivo human research to study its negative effects on fertility.
{"title":"Cell Phones and their Impact on Male Fertility: Fact or Fiction","authors":"A. Hamada, Aspinder Singh, A. Agarwal","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010125","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010125","url":null,"abstract":"Today, cell phone technology is an integral part of everyday life and its use is not only restricted to voice conversations but also conveying news, high resolution pictures and internet. However, these advances in technology are accompanied by progressive boost in the intensity and frequency of the emitted electromagnetic waves without consideration of their health consequences. Our bodies act as parasitic antennas that receive these waves and convert them into electric and magnetic fields. While thermal effects at the present level of cell phone radiation are negligible, most of the biological interactions are attributed to non-thermal effects. Male reproductive system is highly compartmentalized and sensitive biological system that requires the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to properly function. The generated electrical currents may alter the hormonal milieu and testicular microenvironment, necessary for sperm production. Additionally, sperm are electrically active cells and their exposure to cell phone electromagnetic waves and currents may affect their motility, morphology and even their count. Leaky plasma membranes, calcium depletion and oxidative stress are the postulated cellular mechanisms mediating the harmful effects of cell phones radiation on sperm and male fertility potentials. Evidences for such impacts come from designed animal and in vitro studies which may be different from in vivo human exposure. Nevertheless, the important advice is to apply strict regulations on further increase in the power density of the emitted cell phone radiation and to conduct in vivo human research to study its negative effects on fertility.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"71 1","pages":"125-137"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83982218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010007
S. Esteves, A. Agarwal
The World Health Organization (WHO) has established new reference values for semen characteristics in its 5th edition manual which are lower than those previously reported. Several questions arise after a careful examination of the proposed new values, especially regarding the implications of these references for diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. Despite the notable advance of using controlled studies involving couples whose time to pregnancy was less than 12 months to generate the new limits, reference studies are limited with regard to the population analyzed and the methods used for semen evaluation. As such, it seems unreasonable to assume that reference values represent global semen characteristics of fertile men as proposed in the 5 th edition WHO manual. Caution should be exercised to not over- interpret the new reference values as they may fail to accurately discriminate populations of fertile and infertile men. Properly performed semen analyses coupled with an adequate examination of the man can give valuable information related to the organs producing "semen", a highly complex fluid, and thus help in better understanding of the physiology of the reproductive organs and the causes of their dysfunctions. The present commentary discusses concerns related to the publication of the new reference values for semen parameters such as the impact on patient referral, diagnosis, treatment of recognized conditions such as varicocele and indications of assisted reproductive modalities. We conclude that more debate is needed before the adoption of the proposed WHO current reference values by andrology laboratories around the world. For those considering to adopt them, a better approach would be the presentation of reference values by percentiles rather than solely the lower cutoff limits. The time has come for technological developments that bring robust and cost- effective clinically useful sperm function tests to replace, at least partially, the shortcomings of routine semen analysis.
{"title":"Impact of the New WHO Guidelines on Diagnosis and Practice of Male Infertility","authors":"S. Esteves, A. Agarwal","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010007","url":null,"abstract":"The World Health Organization (WHO) has established new reference values for semen characteristics in its 5th edition manual which are lower than those previously reported. Several questions arise after a careful examination of the proposed new values, especially regarding the implications of these references for diagnosis and treatment of male infertility. Despite the notable advance of using controlled studies involving couples whose time to pregnancy was less than 12 months to generate the new limits, reference studies are limited with regard to the population analyzed and the methods used for semen evaluation. As such, it seems unreasonable to assume that reference values represent global semen characteristics of fertile men as proposed in the 5 th edition WHO manual. Caution should be exercised to not over- interpret the new reference values as they may fail to accurately discriminate populations of fertile and infertile men. Properly performed semen analyses coupled with an adequate examination of the man can give valuable information related to the organs producing \"semen\", a highly complex fluid, and thus help in better understanding of the physiology of the reproductive organs and the causes of their dysfunctions. The present commentary discusses concerns related to the publication of the new reference values for semen parameters such as the impact on patient referral, diagnosis, treatment of recognized conditions such as varicocele and indications of assisted reproductive modalities. We conclude that more debate is needed before the adoption of the proposed WHO current reference values by andrology laboratories around the world. For those considering to adopt them, a better approach would be the presentation of reference values by percentiles rather than solely the lower cutoff limits. The time has come for technological developments that bring robust and cost- effective clinically useful sperm function tests to replace, at least partially, the shortcomings of routine semen analysis.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"4 1","pages":"7-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87549206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010001
A. Agarwal, S. Esteves
Andrology, the branch of medicine concerned with male reproductive health, emerged as a specialty at the end of the nineteenth century. However, it was not until the latter half of the past century that andrology had been recognized as one of the most intriguing sub-specialties of human reproduction. This is due to rapidly rising volume of scientific evidence that document the critical role of spermatozoa in the fertilization process. Due to the true nature of research involving the classical disciplines of physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology, scientific knowledge and application of andrology evolve continuously. Invariably, it is leading to a growth in andrological information and better understanding of the field of male reproductive biology. The scope of modern andrology now covers a wide spectrum from genetic studies to pubertal changes in the male and from infertility and assisted reproduction techniques to disorders of the prostate, sexual function and contraception. In this Special Issue of The Open Reproductive Science Journal, we examine some of these technical developments by highlighting the most up-to-date advances and contentious issues in male reproduction in a collection of high quality reviews written by distinguished experts in their fields. These topics were chosen to demonstrate the exciting breadth of andrology and the opportunity it holds for both understanding and improvement of male reproductive health. This Special Issue commences with a provocative commentary that presents a critical appraisal of the new 5 th edition World Health Organization (WHO) reference values for laboratory semen evaluation. Reference values were obtained from data involving approximately two thousand men who were able to impregnate their wives in a period of twelve months or less. Apart from total sperm number per ejaculate, the cutoff limits of these distributions are lower than the 'normal' or 'reference' values of previous WHO manual editions. Despite the notable advance of using evidence-based data to obtain the new limits, a systematic review of the literature was not performed to identify all data on semen quality in various populations. Conversely, the generation of the new WHO reference limits was biased by pooling very few studies coming mainly from Northern European cities. From these data, it seems unsound to assume, as proposed by the 5 th edition WHO manual, that the reference values represent global semen characteristics of fertile men. The authors go on by discussing other flaws of the newly proposed reference limits for the semen analysis parameters and …
{"title":"Editorial: Advances in Andrology and Male Reproductive Health","authors":"A. Agarwal, S. Esteves","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010001","url":null,"abstract":"Andrology, the branch of medicine concerned with male reproductive health, emerged as a specialty at the end of the nineteenth century. However, it was not until the latter half of the past century that andrology had been recognized as one of the most intriguing sub-specialties of human reproduction. This is due to rapidly rising volume of scientific evidence that document the critical role of spermatozoa in the fertilization process. Due to the true nature of research involving the classical disciplines of physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology, scientific knowledge and application of andrology evolve continuously. Invariably, it is leading to a growth in andrological information and better understanding of the field of male reproductive biology. The scope of modern andrology now covers a wide spectrum from genetic studies to pubertal changes in the male and from infertility and assisted reproduction techniques to disorders of the prostate, sexual function and contraception. In this Special Issue of The Open Reproductive Science Journal, we examine some of these technical developments by highlighting the most up-to-date advances and contentious issues in male reproduction in a collection of high quality reviews written by distinguished experts in their fields. These topics were chosen to demonstrate the exciting breadth of andrology and the opportunity it holds for both understanding and improvement of male reproductive health. This Special Issue commences with a provocative commentary that presents a critical appraisal of the new 5 th edition World Health Organization (WHO) reference values for laboratory semen evaluation. Reference values were obtained from data involving approximately two thousand men who were able to impregnate their wives in a period of twelve months or less. Apart from total sperm number per ejaculate, the cutoff limits of these distributions are lower than the 'normal' or 'reference' values of previous WHO manual editions. Despite the notable advance of using evidence-based data to obtain the new limits, a systematic review of the literature was not performed to identify all data on semen quality in various populations. Conversely, the generation of the new WHO reference limits was biased by pooling very few studies coming mainly from Northern European cities. From these data, it seems unsound to assume, as proposed by the 5 th edition WHO manual, that the reference values represent global semen characteristics of fertile men. The authors go on by discussing other flaws of the newly proposed reference limits for the semen analysis parameters and …","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"52 1","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79506701","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010138
S. Esteves, D. T. Schneider
Development in ART has been remarkable in the last decades. Several medical conditions affecting the male fertility status are now treated by ART, especially by the combination of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. ICSI is now the treatment of choice of most untreatable causes of male infertility, including immunologic infertility, severe oligozoospermia and azoospermia. Sperm retrieval techniques have been optimized and microsurgery offers the possibility of collecting testicular spermatozoa even in the most difficult cases of non-obstructive azoospermia. Nonetheless, the reproductive potential of sperm from men with defective spermatogenesis is decreased in ART and such treatment modalities may carry an increased risk of transmitting genetic and epigenetic defect to the embryo. Efforts should be made to improve the male health status prior to embarking on ART because current evidence suggests that fertility optimization may improve treatment outcomes. Moreover, laboratory management of male infertility cases requires special attention. Spermatozoa collected from men with severely impaired spermatogenesis are often compromised and fragile. Adherence to state of the art laboratory techniques and quality control are recommended to avoid jeopardizing sperm fertilizing potential and the chances of achieving a live birth. In this study, we present and critically review our 10-year experience in the management of severe male factor infertility using ART.
{"title":"Male Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Technology: Lessons from the IVF","authors":"S. Esteves, D. T. Schneider","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010138","url":null,"abstract":"Development in ART has been remarkable in the last decades. Several medical conditions affecting the male fertility status are now treated by ART, especially by the combination of in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. ICSI is now the treatment of choice of most untreatable causes of male infertility, including immunologic infertility, severe oligozoospermia and azoospermia. Sperm retrieval techniques have been optimized and microsurgery offers the possibility of collecting testicular spermatozoa even in the most difficult cases of non-obstructive azoospermia. Nonetheless, the reproductive potential of sperm from men with defective spermatogenesis is decreased in ART and such treatment modalities may carry an increased risk of transmitting genetic and epigenetic defect to the embryo. Efforts should be made to improve the male health status prior to embarking on ART because current evidence suggests that fertility optimization may improve treatment outcomes. Moreover, laboratory management of male infertility cases requires special attention. Spermatozoa collected from men with severely impaired spermatogenesis are often compromised and fragile. Adherence to state of the art laboratory techniques and quality control are recommended to avoid jeopardizing sperm fertilizing potential and the chances of achieving a live birth. In this study, we present and critically review our 10-year experience in the management of severe male factor infertility using ART.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"22 1","pages":"138-153"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82847303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010042
R. Dada, J. Thilagavathi, S. Venkatesh, S. Esteves, A. Agarwal
Infertility is a major health problem which affects approximately 22% of married couples in reproductive age. The apparent increased incidence of male infertility, in parallel with the widespread use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), raises concern as to the impact of advanced assisted conception techniques in transmitting genetic anomalies to the offspring. Recent research has widely focused on genetic factors underlying male infertility and several genetic tests are now clinically available. Genetic testing plays an important role not only to identify the etiology of male infertility but also aids in counseling as well as in the prevention of the transmission of genetic defects to the offspring via assisted reproduction. This review is focused on the syndromic and non-syndromic causes of male infertility and the diagnostic tests use in their evaluation.
{"title":"Genetic Testing in Male Infertility","authors":"R. Dada, J. Thilagavathi, S. Venkatesh, S. Esteves, A. Agarwal","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010042","url":null,"abstract":"Infertility is a major health problem which affects approximately 22% of married couples in reproductive age. The apparent increased incidence of male infertility, in parallel with the widespread use of in vitro fertilization (IVF), raises concern as to the impact of advanced assisted conception techniques in transmitting genetic anomalies to the offspring. Recent research has widely focused on genetic factors underlying male infertility and several genetic tests are now clinically available. Genetic testing plays an important role not only to identify the etiology of male infertility but also aids in counseling as well as in the prevention of the transmission of genetic defects to the offspring via assisted reproduction. This review is focused on the syndromic and non-syndromic causes of male infertility and the diagnostic tests use in their evaluation.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"52 1","pages":"42-56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83803723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010114
P. Mathur, Laura Huang, A. Kashou, S. Vaithinathan, A. Agarwal
When apoptosis is improperly activated or regulated in the testis, infertility or even cancer can result. Studies have implicated elevated rates of apoptosis in infertile male patients. Pinpointing how environmental toxicity affects apoptosis is important for the advancement of preventative medicine and behavior, especially as potentially harmful compounds continue to proliferate in households and workplaces. Moreover, familiarity with testicular processes, particularly the induction of apoptosis, is essential for promoting male fertility. This review examines environmental toxicants that have been implicated in testicular apoptosis. We elucidate the mechanistic pathways through which specific xenobiotic compounds trigger cell death in the testis. This review highlights the role of oxidative stress in mediating these apoptotic actions.
{"title":"Environmental Toxicants and Testicular Apoptosis","authors":"P. Mathur, Laura Huang, A. Kashou, S. Vaithinathan, A. Agarwal","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010114","url":null,"abstract":"When apoptosis is improperly activated or regulated in the testis, infertility or even cancer can result. Studies have implicated elevated rates of apoptosis in infertile male patients. Pinpointing how environmental toxicity affects apoptosis is important for the advancement of preventative medicine and behavior, especially as potentially harmful compounds continue to proliferate in households and workplaces. Moreover, familiarity with testicular processes, particularly the induction of apoptosis, is essential for promoting male fertility. This review examines environmental toxicants that have been implicated in testicular apoptosis. We elucidate the mechanistic pathways through which specific xenobiotic compounds trigger cell death in the testis. This review highlights the role of oxidative stress in mediating these apoptotic actions.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"17 1","pages":"114-124"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90095228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2011-09-23DOI: 10.2174/1874255601103010092
A. Kashou, D. J. Benjamin, A. Agarwal, S. Plessis
Sperm proteomics is the identification and functional study of sperm proteins. It is based on the separation of proteins to generate a sample suitable for mass spectrometry and subsequent protein identification. Various proteomic approaches can be employed to study sperm proteins. Currently it has led to the identification and cataloging of thousands of sperm proteins. Ultimately, the goal is to apply sperm proteomics not only as a research method, but also as a clinical and diagnostic tool in the field of male infertility. This manuscript aims to review proteomics and the approaches used to analyze sperm proteins as well as put its application in context with some of the current findings. I. INTRODUCTION Male gametes are highly specialized cells that get pro- duced during the process of spermatogenesis in the testis. They represent a unique subtype of cells and differ drama- tically from somatic cells in general. Their crucial function remains the successful delivery of the paternal complement of genome to the oocyte. Despite spermatozoa being highly accessible cells, more in-depth studies still remain to be done on these gametes in order to elucidate their sub-cellular composition and activities in relation to their activities and function. Innovative methods and original technologies act as catalysts and driving forces for the expansion of knowledge with regards to systems and biological studies. One such emergent group of novel technologies that can be applied to study large sets of biological molecules in order to micro- measure the performance of cells at a given time is collectively referred to as omics. The term omics encompass the study of genes (genomics), transcript (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics) and metabolites (metabolomics) (1). These technologies allow for the identification and quan- tification of cellular components in a spatiotemporal fashion. What researchers once envisioned is now a reality; omics now allows for a transformation from once only genomic analysis to proteomic analysis. This approach offers an opportunity to investigate the relationship between an organism's genotype and resulting phenotype. The specific field of proteomics allows for the measure- ment of the production of protein levels and describes the changes in all proteins expressed and translated from a single genome in a tissue or cell (2). It aims to provide the expression levels of all proteins of one functional state in a biological system (3-5). This enables researchers to gain
{"title":"The Advent of Sperm Proteomics has Arrived","authors":"A. Kashou, D. J. Benjamin, A. Agarwal, S. Plessis","doi":"10.2174/1874255601103010092","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255601103010092","url":null,"abstract":"Sperm proteomics is the identification and functional study of sperm proteins. It is based on the separation of proteins to generate a sample suitable for mass spectrometry and subsequent protein identification. Various proteomic approaches can be employed to study sperm proteins. Currently it has led to the identification and cataloging of thousands of sperm proteins. Ultimately, the goal is to apply sperm proteomics not only as a research method, but also as a clinical and diagnostic tool in the field of male infertility. This manuscript aims to review proteomics and the approaches used to analyze sperm proteins as well as put its application in context with some of the current findings. I. INTRODUCTION Male gametes are highly specialized cells that get pro- duced during the process of spermatogenesis in the testis. They represent a unique subtype of cells and differ drama- tically from somatic cells in general. Their crucial function remains the successful delivery of the paternal complement of genome to the oocyte. Despite spermatozoa being highly accessible cells, more in-depth studies still remain to be done on these gametes in order to elucidate their sub-cellular composition and activities in relation to their activities and function. Innovative methods and original technologies act as catalysts and driving forces for the expansion of knowledge with regards to systems and biological studies. One such emergent group of novel technologies that can be applied to study large sets of biological molecules in order to micro- measure the performance of cells at a given time is collectively referred to as omics. The term omics encompass the study of genes (genomics), transcript (transcriptomics), proteins (proteomics) and metabolites (metabolomics) (1). These technologies allow for the identification and quan- tification of cellular components in a spatiotemporal fashion. What researchers once envisioned is now a reality; omics now allows for a transformation from once only genomic analysis to proteomic analysis. This approach offers an opportunity to investigate the relationship between an organism's genotype and resulting phenotype. The specific field of proteomics allows for the measure- ment of the production of protein levels and describes the changes in all proteins expressed and translated from a single genome in a tissue or cell (2). It aims to provide the expression levels of all proteins of one functional state in a biological system (3-5). This enables researchers to gain","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"136 1","pages":"92-97"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74845126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-09-16DOI: 10.2174/1874255600902010001
J. Venditti, T. Mendelson, B. Bean
Darters (Percidae: Etheostomatini) offer attractive opportunities for analysis of the evolution of reproductive barriers and the molecular basis of fertilization. Here we report some basic characteristics of the sperm of darters, and, to our knowledge, the first report of sperm associated � -L-fucosidase in fishes. Fluorometric enzyme assays using 4- methylumbelliferyl-alpha-L-fucopyranoside (4-MU-fuc) as a substrate provided direct quantification of enzyme activity in both the soluble and cellular fractions of milt from all six species tested. Further analysis using SDS-PAGE and Western blotting revealed that fish sperm and milt contain � -L-fucosidase isoforms with molecular weights similar to those reported for human semen. Fertilization of darter ova by conspecific sperm, as assessed by development of the embryo to the 4 cell stage, was inhibited by pretreatment of sperm with the fucosidase-specific competitive inhibitor DFJ, implicating the sperm fucosidase in fertilization and/or early embryogenesis. Identification of sperm associated � -L- fucosidase in darters is consistent with the importance of carbohydrates during fertilization.
刺虫(刺虫科:刺虫科)为分析生殖障碍的进化和受精的分子基础提供了有吸引力的机会。在这里，我们报告了鱼类精子的一些基本特征，并且，据我们所知，在鱼类中首次报道了精子相关的- l -聚焦酶。利用4-甲基伞形花苷- α - l-岩藻油苷(4- mu -fuc)作为底物进行的荧光酶测定，可以直接定量测定所有6个被测物种的milt的可溶性和细胞部分的酶活性。利用SDS-PAGE和Western blotting进一步分析发现，鱼类精子和精液中含有的- l -聚焦酶同种异构体的分子量与人类精液相似。通过胚胎发育到4个细胞阶段来评估，同种精子对不同卵的受精作用被聚焦酶特异性竞争抑制剂DFJ预处理后的精子所抑制，这表明精子聚焦酶参与了受精和/或早期胚胎发育。精子相关- l -聚焦酶的鉴定与碳水化合物在受精过程中的重要性是一致的。
{"title":"Fucosidases of Sperm and Milt in Darters (Percidae: Etheostomatini)","authors":"J. Venditti, T. Mendelson, B. Bean","doi":"10.2174/1874255600902010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255600902010001","url":null,"abstract":"Darters (Percidae: Etheostomatini) offer attractive opportunities for analysis of the evolution of reproductive barriers and the molecular basis of fertilization. Here we report some basic characteristics of the sperm of darters, and, to our knowledge, the first report of sperm associated � -L-fucosidase in fishes. Fluorometric enzyme assays using 4- methylumbelliferyl-alpha-L-fucopyranoside (4-MU-fuc) as a substrate provided direct quantification of enzyme activity in both the soluble and cellular fractions of milt from all six species tested. Further analysis using SDS-PAGE and Western blotting revealed that fish sperm and milt contain � -L-fucosidase isoforms with molecular weights similar to those reported for human semen. Fertilization of darter ova by conspecific sperm, as assessed by development of the embryo to the 4 cell stage, was inhibited by pretreatment of sperm with the fucosidase-specific competitive inhibitor DFJ, implicating the sperm fucosidase in fertilization and/or early embryogenesis. Identification of sperm associated � -L- fucosidase in darters is consistent with the importance of carbohydrates during fertilization.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"51 1","pages":"1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76586264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-11-17DOI: 10.2174/1874255600801010041
Lihua Liu, B. Emery, D. Carrell
The study of gene mutations causing sequence variation in spermatogenesis-related genes has revealed a highly stable spermatogenic code with little variability and even fewer disease-causing mutations. The current study supports the same trend, indicating that EGR4 and DAX1, two spermatogenesis-related genes, have a high genetic fidelity and do not contain polymorphic sites that would lead to a disease state. This was determined from a population of 192 men, 96 con- trol samples from men with known paternity, acquired from the Utah Genetic Reference Project (UGRP), and 96 infertile men. The diagnosis of the infertile men was stratified amongst three diagnostic groups, non-obstructive azoospermic, se- vere oligozoospermic, and men with abnormal protamine expression.
{"title":"Polymorphisms of the DAX1 and EGR4 Genes are Not Common Causes of Abnormal Spermatogenesis","authors":"Lihua Liu, B. Emery, D. Carrell","doi":"10.2174/1874255600801010041","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255600801010041","url":null,"abstract":"The study of gene mutations causing sequence variation in spermatogenesis-related genes has revealed a highly stable spermatogenic code with little variability and even fewer disease-causing mutations. The current study supports the same trend, indicating that EGR4 and DAX1, two spermatogenesis-related genes, have a high genetic fidelity and do not contain polymorphic sites that would lead to a disease state. This was determined from a population of 192 men, 96 con- trol samples from men with known paternity, acquired from the Utah Genetic Reference Project (UGRP), and 96 infertile men. The diagnosis of the infertile men was stratified amongst three diagnostic groups, non-obstructive azoospermic, se- vere oligozoospermic, and men with abnormal protamine expression.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"37 1","pages":"41-44"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82200052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2008-04-25DOI: 10.2174/1874255600801010028
C. Wenig, B. Schlehofer, G. Beisler, P. Schnitzler, J. Schlehofer
Previous studies of in utero-infection with the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were focused on HCMV- seropositive women. Here, we assessed the clinical relevance of HCMV infection in normal pregnancies. In a prospective cohort study, amniotic fluids from 403 pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis for non-virological reasons were tested for HCMV DNA (nested PCR analysis of amniotic fluids), and sera of mothers and their neonates for IgG and IgM anti- bodies against HCMV (ELISA). Clinical data were obtained through questionnaires at the time of amniocentesis and at delivery. HCMV DNA was found in 3% of amniotic fluids, and was associated with an increased occurrence of preterm delivery, reduced birth weight, premature labor and preeclampsia. The seroprevalence of HCMV-specific IgG in maternal and newborn sera was about 40%, IgM was very rarely found in mothers, and in none of the neonates. Serological results were not associated with pregnancy complications. Hence, in utero HCMV infection is rare in normal pregnancies but might have consequences for the course of pregnancy.
{"title":"Influence of Early In Utero Infection with Human Cytomegalovirus on the Course of Pregnancy","authors":"C. Wenig, B. Schlehofer, G. Beisler, P. Schnitzler, J. Schlehofer","doi":"10.2174/1874255600801010028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1874255600801010028","url":null,"abstract":"Previous studies of in utero-infection with the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were focused on HCMV- seropositive women. Here, we assessed the clinical relevance of HCMV infection in normal pregnancies. In a prospective cohort study, amniotic fluids from 403 pregnant women undergoing amniocentesis for non-virological reasons were tested for HCMV DNA (nested PCR analysis of amniotic fluids), and sera of mothers and their neonates for IgG and IgM anti- bodies against HCMV (ELISA). Clinical data were obtained through questionnaires at the time of amniocentesis and at delivery. HCMV DNA was found in 3% of amniotic fluids, and was associated with an increased occurrence of preterm delivery, reduced birth weight, premature labor and preeclampsia. The seroprevalence of HCMV-specific IgG in maternal and newborn sera was about 40%, IgM was very rarely found in mothers, and in none of the neonates. Serological results were not associated with pregnancy complications. Hence, in utero HCMV infection is rare in normal pregnancies but might have consequences for the course of pregnancy.","PeriodicalId":88757,"journal":{"name":"The open reproductive science journal","volume":"17 1","pages":"28-34"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82909582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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