Association between male Infertility and seminal plasma levels of growth hormone and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 |
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| Authors: | Mara Simopoulou Evangelos Maziotis Konstantinos Sfakianoudis Nikolaos Nitsos Panagiotis Bakas Roxane Tenta Evangelos Zevolis Konstantinos Pantos Michael Koutsilieris |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Physiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GreeceJoint first authors.;2. Department of Physiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece;3. Centre for Human Reproduction, Genesis Athens Clinic, Athens, Greece;4. Assisted Conception Unit, 2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical School, Aretaieion Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece;5. Department of Nutrition & Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece |
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| Abstract: | Growth hormone (GH) and insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) have been proposed to play a pivotal role in male infertility due to their anabolic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate possible associations between seminal plasma levels of GH and IGF‐1 and sperm parameters. Fifty men participated in this study. Semen analysis was performed, while cell‐free seminal plasma was collected following sperm centrifugation. Seminal plasma concentrations of IGF‐1 and GH were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Due to the presence of asthenozoospermia in all participants who presented with abnormal sperm parameters, the participants were further subdivided into normal (group A), asthenozoospermic (group B) and asthenozoospermic plus at least one additional abnormal parameter (group C). A marginally nonsignificant statistical difference (p = 0.063) was revealed between the GH levels corresponding to the asthenozoospermic and the normal group with the latter presenting with higher GH levels. A statistically significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) was noted between levels of GH and IGF‐1 in group C. The above relationship has also been observed in men with low sperm concentration, vitality, volume and abnormal morphology. These novel findings require further investigation in order for the biological significance of those associations to be clarified. |
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| Keywords: |
GH
IGF‐1 male infertility seminal plasma sperm parameters |
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