Andrology: Insulin-like growth factor-I and {alpha}2-macroglobulin in seminal plasma correlate with semen quality

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and ₂-macroglobulin (₂-M)are believed to be involved in the development of germ cells.IGF-I is mainly controlled by concentrations of human growthhormone (HGH), influences cell proliferation and differentiationand its action is mediated by insulin-like growth factor-bindingproteins (IGFBP), placental protein 14 (PP14) and prostate-specificantigen (PSA). ₂-M acts as a broad spectrum proteinase inhibitorand a binding protein for many cytokines and hormones, e.g.inhibin and activin. This study was designed to identify concentrationsof these molecules in seminal plasma in normal semen samplesof healthy men, correlations with semen quality, the relationshipof IGF-I and ₂-M with factors affecting male fertility, andwhether vasectomy influences the concentrations of these molecules.Concentrations of IGF-I and₂-M in human seminal plasma wererelated to semen quality, basal concentrations of HGH, testosterone,IGFBP-3, soluble fibronectin receptor (sFNR), PSA and PP14 inseminal plasma and to serum concentrations of luteinizing hormone(LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). Commercially availableassays were used to analyse 69 semen samples of various qualityand 11 post-vasectomy samples. IGF-I concentrations in seminalplasma were significantly correlated with the percentage ofmorphologically normal spermatozoa (r = 0.748, P = 0.00001)and sperm concentration (r = 0301, P = 0.011), but negativelycorrelated with serum FSH (r = –0.506, P = 0.00006) andPSA in seminal plasma (r = –0388, P = 0.0009). Total ₂-Mwas significantly correlated with sperm count (r = 0.423, P= 0.0005), percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa (r= 0.444, P = 0.00019), quality of motility (sperm motile efficiency,r = 802, P = 0.00001) and straight line velocity (r = 0.411,P = 0.0013). Correlation between the sperm concentration andHGH in seminal plasma was weak (r = 0.287, P = 0.015). Vasectomyreduced the concentration of total ₂-M (P = 0.00008) and HGH(P = 0.0068) in the seminal plasma; IGF-I was also reduced aftervasectomy when the total ejaculate amount was considered. ThusIGF-I and ₂-M are significant for the germ cell development:IGF-I hi the maturation of spermatozoa and ₂-M in progressivemotility.     

Antiphospholipid antibodies in serum and follicular fluid: is there a correlation with IVF implantation failure?

Sir, We have read the paper of Buckingham et al. (2006) with considerableinterest because we have recently published a related study(Matsubayashi et al., 2006). Buckingham et al. (2006) reportedthat antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) do not appear selectivelyconcentrated in follicular fluids and, when present, do notadversely affect the reproductive outcome     

Smoking,lung cancers and their TP53 mutations

The TP53 suppressor gene possesses several properties that havefacilitated its use as a reporter of genotoxic exposure (Biggset al., 1993). In particular, it is mutated in a high proportionof many types of human cancer and it sustains a broad spectrumof mutations that can vary in both their position and type.In lung tumours from smokers, the high frequency of GT transversions(30% compared with 10% in cancers without tobacco aetiology)has been attributed to DNA adducts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs), such as benzo[a]pyrene, that are present in tobaccosmoke (Hainaut and Pfeifer, 2001). Benzo[a]pyrene is activatedto form benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide (BPDE), which reacts withDNA predominantly at the N²-position of guanine, and both invitro and in     

Reply: Patient attitudes towards twin pregnancies and SET: a questionnaire study

Sir, We are grateful to Garel et al. (2008) for their interest inour article (Højgaard et al., 2007). It is true thatself-administered questionnaires may mask more complex opinions. In order to address this, we therefore conducted a qualitativestudy prior to the questionnaire     

Caesarean Section and subfertility

Dear Sir, We read with interest the paper by Murphy et al. reporting anassociation between Caesarean Section (CS) and subfertility(Murphy et al., 2002). That there is a link between CS and subsequentinfertility, has been known for a while (Hemminki, 1996), ashas the existence of     

Reply to 'Reciprocal translocation carriers ascertained for recurrent miscarriage have a possibility to yield an unbalanced fetal chromosome pattern'

Sir, We thank Mayumi Sugiura-Ogasawara et al. for their commentson our paper (Goddijn et al., 2004     

Reply: Comment on: Is progesterone elevation on the day of human chorionic gonadotrophin administration associated with the probability of pregnancy in in vitro fertilization? A systematic review and meta-analysis. By Venetis et al (2007)

Sir, We would like to thank Dr Bosch for his interest in our work(Venetis et al., 2007). Dr Bosch raises certain issues regardingthe interpretation of the results of this systematic reviewand meta-analysis, which deserve commenting. (i) The concept of trend In the systematic review and meta-analysis by Venetis et al.(2007), a clear research     

Evaluation of {beta}-endorphin and interleukin-6 in seminal plasma of patients with certain andrological diseases

Human semen contains large amounts of opioid peptides and cytokines.We have measured the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 in140 semen samples and of -endorphinin 77 semen samples. Themedian concentration of endorphinin seminal plasma from normozoospermicmen(n = 23) was 154.7 pg/ml (10th—90th percentiles, 42.0—774.6),and there was no significant difference in the -endorphin concentrationamong normozoospermic, oligozoospermic (n= 28), asthenozoospermic(n= 15), azoospermic(n= 4) and post-vasectomy (n= 7) samples.There was no correlation between -endorphin concentration andsperm characteristics, nor with blood hormones. Endorphinconcentration was lower in cases with immunelogical infertility,as revealed by a positive direct mixedantiglobulin reactiontest (n = 12) ( > 0.01), than inmatched controls. The medianconcentration of IL-6 insamples with normal sperm concentration,motility andmorphology with or without white blood cells (n=39) was 26.1 pg/ml (10th–90th percentiles, 7.3–172.3),and there was no significant difference in the IL-6 concentrationamong normozoospermic, oligozoospermic (n= 46),asthenozoospermic(n= 32), azoospermic (n= 13) and post-vasectomy (n= 10) samples.The IL-6 concentration was significantly higher in cases ofvaricocele (n= 22)without white blood cells in semen (P <0.001) than in matched controls without varicocele (n= 23).In addition, the IL-6 concentration was elevated (P < 0.0001)in cases with accessory sex gland inflammation (n= 40). IL-6concentration was positively correlated with white blood cellsin semen (n= 60, r = 0.59, P < 0.0001), but there was nocorrelation with -endorphin concentration. The IL-6 concentrationchosen to differentiate between cases with and without accessorygland inflammation was 45.3 pg/ml, with a specificity of 80.6%and a sensitivity of 92.5%. It is concluded that -endorphinin seminal plasma playsan immune suppressive role, and thatincreased IL-6 concentration may be related to testicular dysfunctionincases with varicocele. Furthermore, IL-6 is an accurate markerof accessory sex gland inflammation.     

The influence of the depth of embryo replacement into the uterine cavity on implantation rates after IVF: a controlled,ultrasound-guided study

Dear Sir, I congratulate Coroleu et al. for a scientifically valuablestudy (Coroleu et al., 2002). Without a doubt many clinicianswould have changed their     

Reply: Ultrasound guided embryo transfer does not offer any benefit in clinical outcome: a randomized controlled study

Sir We thank Drs Ata and Urman for their interest in our study (Kosmaset al., 2007). For the study design, trial committee had toconsider two major aspects. Embryo transfer performance is linkedwith the clinician (Hearns-Stokes et al., 2000), and a certainnumber of embryo transfers is required for achieving competenceequal     

Pregnancy: Temporal relationship between the human chorionic gonadotrophin peak and the establishment of intervillous blood flow in early pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to investigate the temporal relationshipbetween the early pregnancy peak of circulating human chorionicgonadotrophin (HCG) concentration and the establishment of maternalblood flow in the placental intervillous space. The presenceof blood flow echoes within intervillous space was determinedby colour Doppler imaging from 44 women with clinically uncomplicatedpregnancy between 6 and 18 weeks gestation. Circulating HCG,free - and HCG subunits, oestradiol and progesterone concentrationswere immunoassayed in blood samples collected at the time ofDoppler examination. A continuous intervillous blood flow wasdetected in all cases with a gestational age 11.7 weeks (n =18) but never before this time. Circulating concentrations offree HCG, oestradiol and progesterone were linearly or exponentiallycorrelated with gestational age (r = 0.860, 0.903 and 0.538respectively, all with P < 0.001), indicating steady increaseof these hormones with advancing gestation. However, the bestfitted lines were found to be parabolic for HCG (r = 0.771,P < 0.001) and HCG (r = 0.695, P < 0.001), their highestpoints corresponding to 11.24 and 10.74 weeks gestational agerespectively. The close temporal relationship between the Doppleradvent of intervillous maternal blood flow and the HCG peaksuggests that the establishment of the intervillous blood flowis associated with the decline in circulating HCG concentrations.     

Environmental estrogens and sperm function

Dear Sir, In January 2003, our paper entitled ‘17-Estradiol andenvironmental estrogens significantly affect mammalian spermfunction’ was published in Human Reproduction (Adeoya-Osiguwaet al., 2003). On behalf of our colleagues, we     

One year on..

It has been more than a year since I became Editor-in-Chiefof Human Reproduction and it has been a good year for the journal.The high number of submissions has continued and from these,good-quality articles have been published. In the Thomson ScientificJournal Citation Reports (JCR) for 2006, the Impact Factor (IF)of Human Reproduction was 3.769, slightly higher than in 2005.Human     

Calcium signalling in human oocytes and embryos: two-store model revival

Since the first observations showing that sperm-induced activationof mouse oocytes is mediated by sustained oscillations of intracellularfree calcium concentration (Cuthbertson and Cobbold, 1985),similar patterns of sperm-induced calcium signals have beenobserved in various other mammalian species (Jones, 1998; review).Sperm-induced calcium oscillations were also observed in humanoocytes, both after conventional IVF (Taylor et al., 1993) andafter ICSI (Tesarik et al., 1994; Tesarik and Sousa, 1994). The rapid expansion of clinical applications of ICSI in theearly-to-mid 1990s raised considerable concern about the safetyof this technique, which prompted research into the differencesin the form of sperm-induced calcium signals generated in conventionally-fertilizedand ICSI-treated oocytes. It was     

Clinical evidence for an LH ceiling?

Dear Sir, We read with interest the letter by M.Filicori (Filicori etal., 2003) commenting on our pilot studies published earlierin Human Reproduction (Loumaye et al., 2003). Filicori et al. remind us that they have repeatedly reporteda reduction in ‘small’ follicles (<10 mm)by administering LH activity during the follicular phase. Thissupports a ‘ceiling’ for LH on antral follicleswith a diameter <10 mm; however, they challenge sucheffect of LH on larger follicles (>10 mm). This is basedon four pilot studies published by the same     

Chromosome aberrations in 500 couples referred for in-vitro fertilization or related fertility treatment

Cytogenetic studies were performed in 500 couples referred forin-vitro fertilization or gamete (zygote) intra-Fallopian transfer.Thirteen individuals (1.3%) with chromosomal abnormalities werefound. Four major types of anomalies were observed: reciprocaltranslocations (n = 3), inversions (n = 2), iso-Xq chromosomes(n = 2) and sex chromosome number mosaics (n = 4). Moreovertwo males with respectively a 47,XYY and a 47,XY, mar⁺ karyotypewere identified. These data pointed to a higher incidence ofchromosomal aberrations in this infertile population as comparedto a neonatal population without obvious chromosomal pathology.Analysis of the chromosomes which were involved in hyperdiploidyand hypodiploidy in the 30 000 metaphases evaluated, showeda high proportion of cells that had lost or gained an X-chromosome.A puzzling finding was the statistically significant low incidenceof 45,X metaphases (0.9) in women of couples treated on andrological indication as compared to the frequencyof 45,X chromosome complements in women with tubal disease (4.0) or of couples with an idiopathic (4.3) or mixed female and male (6.7) indication.     

Assisted hatching improves implantation rates on cryopreserved-thawed embryos. A randomized prospective study

Sir, Gabrielsen et al. (2004) evaluated the impact of assisted hatchingin cryopreserved human embryo transfers and reported an implantationrate of 11.4% in the assisted hatching group and 5.8% in thecontrol group (P<0.05; Table I