Objectives: To evaluate the mechanism of using TGJN(a kind of extract of Chinese herb medicine)to treat BPH. Methods: The radioligandbinding assays were used to observe the inhibiting effect from TGJN to the α1-AR in human smooth muscle cells of hyperplastic prostate. Results: TGJN can inhibit the binding of α1-AR with 125 I BE through binding with α1-AR.The inhibition was related to the concentration of TGJN and the inhibition was the biggest in middle lobe of human hyperplastic prostate[The Ki was (200.3±19.83)mg/L]. Conclusions: TGJNcan inhibit the α1-AR in human smooth muscle cells of hyperplastic prostate. Natl J Androl,2001,7(2):136～138

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 observe the clinical efficacy of tonifying kidney and replenishing essence on asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency and the effects of this method on the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 （mTORC1） signaling pathway. MethodsSeventy-two eligible asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to January 2024 were selected and randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group， with 36 patients in each group. The observation group received oral administration of Guilu Tianjing capsules， while the control group received oral administration of L-carnitine oral solution. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks in both groups. The observed indicators included sperm progressive motility rate （PR）， total sperm motility （PR+NP）， percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores before and after treatment in both groups. A three-month follow-up was instituted to record the conception status of the patients’ spouses. Additionally， eight patients were randomly selected from the eligible patients in the observation group， and four healthy males with normal semen routine examination results were included as the control group for the determination of protein expression. Western blotting was conducted to assess the expression of AMPK， phosphorylated （p）-AMPK， regulatory-associated protein of mTOR （RAPTOR） and p-RAPTOR， and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） in sperms from the observation group before and after treatment， as well as in the sperms of the control group. ResultsThe pregnancy rate of spouses in the observation group was 9.09% （3/33）， which was higher than that （3.33%， 1/30） in the control group. The total response rate was 84.8% （28/33） in the observation group and 66.7% （20/30） in the control group， with no statistically significant difference. After treatment， both groups were improved considering PR， PR+NP， MMP， and TCM symptom scores （P<0.01）. Moreover， the observation group exhibited more pronounced decreases in TCM symptom scores than the control group （P<0.05）， while the changes in PR， PR+NP， and MMP showed no statistical significance between groups. Compared with the control group， the asthenozoospermia group exhibited upregulations in phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK （P<0.01）. The administration of Guilu Tianjing Capsules led to downregulations in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK1 （P<0.01）. However， the protein levels of AMPK and RAPTOR demonstrated no significant difference between before and after treatment. During the study period， neither group of patients exhibited any notable adverse reactions. ConclusionGuilu Tianjing capsules can enhance the sperm motility and percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential in asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency by downregulating the AMPK/mTORC1 signaling pathway， lowering the protein level of PINK1， and inhibiting excessive activation of mitophagy.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of tonifying kidney and replenishing essence on asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency and the effects of this method on the adenosine 5′-monophosphate-activated protein kinase （AMPK）/mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 （mTORC1） signaling pathway. MethodsSeventy-two eligible asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency treated in the Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to January 2024 were selected and randomly assigned into an observation group and a control group， with 36 patients in each group. The observation group received oral administration of Guilu Tianjing capsules， while the control group received oral administration of L-carnitine oral solution. The treatment course lasted for 4 weeks in both groups. The observed indicators included sperm progressive motility rate （PR）， total sperm motility （PR+NP）， percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential （MMP）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） symptom scores before and after treatment in both groups. A three-month follow-up was instituted to record the conception status of the patients’ spouses. Additionally， eight patients were randomly selected from the eligible patients in the observation group， and four healthy males with normal semen routine examination results were included as the control group for the determination of protein expression. Western blotting was conducted to assess the expression of AMPK， phosphorylated （p）-AMPK， regulatory-associated protein of mTOR （RAPTOR） and p-RAPTOR， and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 （PINK1） in sperms from the observation group before and after treatment， as well as in the sperms of the control group. ResultsThe pregnancy rate of spouses in the observation group was 9.09% （3/33）， which was higher than that （3.33%， 1/30） in the control group. The total response rate was 84.8% （28/33） in the observation group and 66.7% （20/30） in the control group， with no statistically significant difference. After treatment， both groups were improved considering PR， PR+NP， MMP， and TCM symptom scores （P<0.01）. Moreover， the observation group exhibited more pronounced decreases in TCM symptom scores than the control group （P<0.05）， while the changes in PR， PR+NP， and MMP showed no statistical significance between groups. Compared with the control group， the asthenozoospermia group exhibited upregulations in phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK （P<0.01）. The administration of Guilu Tianjing Capsules led to downregulations in the phosphorylation levels of AMPK and RAPTOR and protein level of PINK1 （P<0.01）. However， the protein levels of AMPK and RAPTOR demonstrated no significant difference between before and after treatment. During the study period， neither group of patients exhibited any notable adverse reactions. ConclusionGuilu Tianjing capsules can enhance the sperm motility and percentage of normal mitochondrial membrane potential in asthenozoospermia patients with the syndrome of kidney essence deficiency by downregulating the AMPK/mTORC1 signaling pathway， lowering the protein level of PINK1， and inhibiting excessive activation of mitophagy.

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.