Expression of estrogen receptor alpha in the testis of infertile men with spermatogenic arrest.
- Author:
Gang WANG
1
;
Shou-yi GU
;
Kang-ning CHEN
;
Zhen-xian WANG
;
Ting-jiang LIU
;
Ke-jian SUN
;
Ying-wei ZHAO
;
Fu-zhen SUN
;
Xiang-yun YIN
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Adult; Case-Control Studies; Estrogen Receptor alpha; metabolism; Humans; Infertility, Male; etiology; metabolism; pathology; Male; Spermatogenesis; Testis; metabolism; pathology; Young Adult
- From: National Journal of Andrology 2011;17(1):27-31
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVETo explore the association of spermatogenic arrest with the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in human testes.
METHODSWe examined the testicular biopsy specimens of 120 infertile men by HE staining, detected the expression of ERalpha in the specimens of those with spermatogenic arrest by the two-step immunohistochemical method, and compared the results with those of 10 healthy men.
RESULTSOf the 120 specimens from the infertile men, 31 (25.8%) met the diagnostic criteria of spermatogenic arrest. In the testis tissue of normal men, ERalpha expressed in Sertoli, myoid and Leydig cells, but not in spermatogenic cells, while in the testis tissues of those with spermatogenic arrest, ERalpha expressed lowly in Sertoli, myoid and Leydig cells, with statistically significant differences in immunostaining intensity between the two groups (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSIONAndrogen receptor (AR) and ERalpha may play a coordinating role in facilitating spermatogenesis. Spermatogenic arrest may be related to a complex series of disorders in cell signal transduction involving AR, ERalpha and HSP90.
