Androgen Receptor Expression and Sperm Function in Male Infertility | ||||
Bulletin of Egyptian Society for Physiological Sciences | ||||
Article 16, Volume 31, Issue 2, June 2011, Page 205-220 PDF (247.49 K) | ||||
Document Type: Original Article | ||||
DOI: 10.21608/besps.2011.36141 | ||||
View on SCiNiTO | ||||
Authors | ||||
Adel Zalata* 1; Naglaa Mokhtar1; Gamal Othman1; Abd EL-Naser Badawy1; Moheiddin Alghobary2; Amal Aziz3 | ||||
1Medical Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura university | ||||
2Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology Departments, Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura university | ||||
3Clinical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University | ||||
Abstract | ||||
The androgen receptor (AR), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, plays important role in male reproductive functions. A functional androgen receptor is required for male embryonic sexual differentiation, pubertal development and regulation of spermatogenesis. The role of AR during spermatogenesis has been the subject of intense interest for many years. Several reports have shown that AR function is required for the completion of meiosis and the transition of spermatocytes to haploid round spermatids. The aim of the present study was to determine the association between androgen receptor expression and fertilization ability of human sperm in different andrological diseases. Eighty semen samples obtained from men attending the Andrology Outpatient Clinic, Mansoura University Hospital were included in the study .The samples were grouped into control (n=20), accessory sex gland inflammation (MAGI) ( n=18), varicocele ( n=25) and idiopathic infertility (n=17). The semen samples analyses were done according to the recommendation of the World Health Organization. Computer assisted semen analysis (Autosperm) was performed. The acrosome reaction of spermatozoa recovered from each sample was assessed before and after stimulation with the calcium ionophore A23187 (Sigma, St. Louis, Missouri, USA) by the pisum sativum (Sigma, St. Louis, Missouri, USA) fluorescence method with simultaneous vitality stain (Hoechst 33258, Germany). RNA was extracted from sperm of all cases and controls. cDNA and amplification of a gene region from 1648 to 2055 bp corresponding to the DNA binding domain plus the hinge region of human androgen receptor was carried out by one step RT-PCR. The PCR product size of 400 bp was electrophoresed on agarose gel 2% electrophoresis. Androgen receptor expression was significantly decreased in MAGI, varicocele and idiopathic groups compared with the control (P<0.01). Furthermore, AR expression was positively correlated with grade A+B motility (r=0.476, P<0.0001, velocity (r=0.362, P<0.001), linear velocity (r=0.454, P<0.0001), α- glucosidase (r= 0.420, P<0.0001) and acrosome reaction (r=0.532, P<0.0001). | ||||
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