Objective To study the clinical efficacy of Bushen Huoxue decoction in the treatment of varicocele infertility and its influence on epididymis function and sperm vitality. Methods A total of 98 patients with varicocele infertility who were treated in our hospital from August 2016 to July 2018 were selected. The patients were randomly divided into control group of 49 cases and study group of 49 cases. The patients in the control group were treated with Maizhiling plus Wuzi Yanzong pill; the patients in the study group were treated with Bushen Huoxue decoction. After 12 weeks of treatment, the clinical efficacy of the patients was evaluated. The semen quality (including semen volume, sperm density, sperm motility, forward-moving sperm), sex hormones, and seminal plasma neutral α-glucosidase in the two groups were compared before and after treatment. After the end of treatment, the patients were followed up for 3 months to observe the pregnancy of the patients' spouse. Results After treatment, the total effective rate of the study group was87.76％, and the total effective rate of the control group was 69.39％. The semen quality, sex hormone and neutral α-glucosidase levels in the study group were better than those in the control group (P<0.05). Conclusion Bushen Huoxue decoction has a significant clinical effect in treating varicocele infertility. It can improve the semen quality, improve testosterone level and seminal plasma neutral α-glucosidase level, and improve the fertility of patients with varicocele.It is worthy of clinical promotion.

Objective:To evaluate the inhibitory effect of a retinoid derivative ECPIRM on proliferation of a cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) cell line HH, and to explore its potential mechanisms.Methods:Cultured HH cells were treated with ECPIRM at different concentrations of 0 (control group) , 5, 10 and 20 μmol/L separately for 72 hours, cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was performed to evaluate the effect of ECPIRM on the proliferative activity of HH cells, and flow cytometry to investigate the effect of ECPIRM on apoptosis of HH cells. Some HH cells were treated with 10 μmol/L ECPIRM for 72 hours, transcriptome sequencing was performed to investigate gene expression changes triggered by ECPIRM in HH cells, and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis were then performed to analyze differentially expressed genes in HH cells induced by ECPIRM. Reverse transcription-qPCR was subsequently conducted to verify changes in key gene expression in related pathways. Intergroup differences were analyzed by using one-way analysis of variance, and least significant difference (LSD) - t test was used for multiple comparisons. Results:CCK8 assay showed that the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of ECPIRM on HH cells was 4.91 ± 2.48 μmol/L, the viability of HH cells significantly differed among the control group, and 5-, 10-and 20-μmol/L ECPIRM groups (100.00% ± 2.87%, 49.58% ± 4.53%, 48.36% ± 2.88%, 31.44% ± 2.46%, respectively, F=162.86, P < 0.001) , and was significantly lower in the 5-, 10-and 20-μmol/L ECPIRM groups than in the control group ( t=15.36, 15.73, 20.89, respectively, all P < 0.001) . Flow cytometry showed that there was a significant difference in the apoptosis rate among the 4 groups (11.51% ± 1.84%, 23.83% ± 5.72%, 36.19% ± 8.33%, 49.75% ± 4.10%, respectively, F=17.62, P < 0.001) , and the 10-and 20-μmol/L groups showed significantly increased apoptosis rates compared with the control group ( t=4.46, 6.92 respectively, both P < 0.01) . Transcriptomics analysis revealed that the inhibitory effect of ECPIRM on the cellular proliferative activity may be related to the metabolic regulation of steroids. As reverse transcription-qPCR revealed, the 10-μmol/L ECPIRM group showed significantly decreased mRNA expression of L-amino acid oxidase (IL4I1) , acetyl-coenzyme A acetyltransferase 2 (ACAT2) , 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A synthase 1 (HMGCS1) , mevalonate diphosphate decarboxylase (MVD) , 3-β-hydroxysteroid-8,7-isomerase (EBP) , very low-density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) , 3-hydroxy 3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) compared with the control group (all P < 0.05) . Conclusion:The retinoid derivative ECPIRM exerted marked anti-proliferative and apoptosis-inducing effects on HH cells, which may be related to the decreased expression of key genes involved in steroid metabolism.