OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of Chinese herbal composition Zengjing Granule (ZJG) on the quality of sperm in the epididymis of infertile rats, and to study its therapeutic mechanisms of improving sperm quality.

METHODSA total of 40 GTW infertile rats were divided into 4 groups of 10 rats each, including an infertility group[GTW 2 mg/(ml.100 g)], a high-dosage group[ZJG 0.67 g/(ml.100 g) + GTW 2 mg/(ml.100 g)], a medium-dosage group[ZJG 0.33 g/(ml.100 g) + GTW 2 mg/(ml.100 g)], a low-dosage group[ZJG 0.17 g/(ml.100 g) + GTW 2 mg/(ml.100 g)], and a normal control group(1% CMC). This study consisted of a 3-week modeling period and a 3-week ZJG period. The changes of sperm quality, the thickness of the epididymal gland canal wall and sexual organ coefficient were detected after 3-week ZJG period.

RESULTSOf the 3 ZJG groups, the sperm density was (59.6 +/- 3.72), (63.3 +/- 5.70) and (69.7 +/- 6.91) x 10(6)/ml, the sperm motility rates were (65.4 +/- 6.33)%, (69.3 +/- 10.96)% and (72.6 +/- 9.61)%, the sperm deformity rates were (52.3 +/- 7.47)%, (46.2 +/- 7.73)% and (33.2 +/- 7.97)% respectively. The ZJG groups showed significant difference from the infertility group (P < 0.05), whose sperm density, motility and deformity were (13.1 +/- 6.81) x 10(6)/ml, (7.6 +/- 5.87)%, and (77.2 +/- 8.75)% respectively. But there was no significant difference between ZJG groups and the normal control group (P > 0.05), whose sperm density, motility and deformity were (75.6 +/- 10.82) x 10(6)/ml, (83.00 +/- 8.02)%, and (8.80 +/- 3.49)% respectively. The thickness of the epididymal gland canal wall was (37.07 +/- 3.38), (37.16 +/- 6.69) and (43.42 +/- 10.23) nm in the three ZJG groups respectively, different from the infertility group[(28.65 +/- 6.96) nm] (P < 0.05) significantly, but not from the normal control group [(45.79 +/- 11.13) nm] (P > 0.05). The ZJG groups showed an increase in the organ coefficient of the epididymal gland canal wall. And these was obvious statistical difference compared with the infertility group (P < 0.05), but no statistical significance compared with the normal control group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSZJG can obviously improve the sperm quality of infertile rats. Its therapeutic mechanisms can be summed up as follows: restoring the thickness of epididymal gland wall, increasing the organ coefficient of testes and epididymis, and hence improving the spermatozoa maturing function of epididymis of infertile rats.

Animals ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Epididymis ; drug effects ; pathology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Spermatozoa ; drug effects

OBJECTIVESTo study the PDE5 activity in corpora cavernosa of the Ganyu Qizhi model penis and the effect of the Chinese herbal medicine Shugan Liqi Huoxue (SLH) ointment on it.

METHODSNon-injury stress stimulus method similar to human spirit stress was used to extablish the Ganyu Qizhi animal(rat) model, and the PDE5 activity in corpora cavernosa of the rat penis was measured by the method of immunohistochemistry and computer image analysis.

RESULTSThe PDE5 activity in corpora cavernosa of the high-dosage SLH group was significantly different from that of the model group (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONGanyu Qizhi may increase the PDE5 activity in corpora cavernosa of the penis while SLH can reduce such activity.

3',5'-Cyclic-GMP Phosphodiesterases ; metabolism ; Animals ; Cyclic Nucleotide Phosphodiesterases, Type 5 ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Erectile Dysfunction ; etiology ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Models, Animal ; Penis ; drug effects ; enzymology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

ObjectiveTo explore the effective components and mechanism of Epimedii Folium in the treatment of oligoasthenotspermia by using network pharmacology and molecular docking technique. MethodThe main active components and corresponding target genes of Epimedii Folium were screened out from Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform （TCMSP）. Target genes of oligospermia were obtained by GeneCards and Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man （OMIM） database. Uniprot was used to correct all genes. The drug-active component-key target regulatory network was constructed by Cytoscape3.9.0， and the key active components were screened out according to the degree value. The active components and common targets of the disease were uploaded to STRING 11.5 database to construct the Epimedii Folium and oligoasthenotspermia target protein-protein interaction （PPI） network， and the key protein targets were screened out according to the degree value. The key targets of gene ontology （GO） functional enrichment analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes （KEGG） pathway enrichment analysis were performed using DAVID database. Protein Data Bank （PDB） and TCMSP were used to obtain the molecular structure of target proteins and active components. AutoDock Vina 1.1.2 was used to perform molecular docking of the active components and the core protein targets. Finally， icariin， the active component of Epimedii Folium， was used to intervene in the rat model of oligoasthenotspermia to verify the effect of icariin on the expression level of protein targets. ResultTwenty-three active components from Epimedii Folium were screened out， and 50 common targets and 6 core targets of oligoasthenotspermia and Epimedii Folium were obtained， including tumor protein p53 （TP53）， epidermal growth factor receptor （EGFR）， prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 （PTGS2）， cysteine aspartate-specific protease （Caspase）-3， erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 （ERBB2）， and caspase-9. Through GO enrichment and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis， the active components of Epimedii Folium were mainly involved in the P53 signaling pathway， the pathways in cancer， cell proliferation， and apoptosis， etc. Molecular docking results indicated that icariin， quercetin， and 8-isopentenol had strong binding ability to target protein. The results of icariin intervention experiment showed that as compared with the control group， the expression of target proteins in testis of rats with oligoasthenotspermia was significantly down-regulated. As compared with the model group， icariin significantly up-regulated the expression of target protein in testis of rats with oligoasthenotspermia （P<0.05）. ConclusionEpimedii Folium treats oligoasthenotspermia through regulating the P53 signaling pathway， the pathways in cancer， cell proliferation， and apoptosis by icariin， quercetin， and 8-isopentenol.

ObjectiveTo systematically review the intervention effect of Chinese medicine on the structure and function of testicular Sertoli cells in animal models of impaired spermatogenesis. MethodThe databases， such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure （CNKI），VIP，Wanfang Data，EMbase，and Pubmed，were searched for experimental studies on the effect of Chinese medicine on the structure and function of testicular Sertoli cells in animal models with impaired spermatogenesis. The included studies were evaluated for risks of bias，and the outcome indicators were analyzed with RevMan and Stata software. ResultThirty studies were included，involving 37 randomized controlled trials （RCTs）. As indicated by the Meta-analysis results， compared with the model group，Chinese medicine increased sperm density（SMD=2.42，95% confidence interval（CI）［1.47，3.37］，P<0.000 01）， promoted sperm motility（SMD=2.35，95%CI ［1.70， 2.99］，P<0.000 01）， up-regulated the protein and mRNA levels of Vimentin （related to Sertoli cell cytoskeleton）， elevated the levels of Occludin and Claudin-11 （related to tight junction of blood-testis barrier）， boosted the levels of β-catenin and N-cadherin （related to adherens junction of blood-testis barrier）， raised the level of connexin 43 （Cx43， related to gap junction of blood-testis barrier）， improved the function of Sertoli cells， increased the serum content of Inhibin B （INHB）， and up-regulated the levels of testicular follicle-stimulating hormone receptor （FSHR）， INHB mRNA， androgen-binding protein （ABP） mRNA， transferrin（TF），stem cell factor（SCF），SCF mRNA，glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor （GDNF），GDNF mRNA，bone morphogenetic protein 4（BMP4），and BMP4 mRNA （P<0.05）. ConclusionChinese medicine can effectively increase sperm density and motility of animal models of impaired spermatogenesis，and improve the structure and function of testicular Sertoli cells. However，affected by the quality of the included studies，the above conclusion needs to be further verified by relevant high-quality studies.