AIMTo assess laminin levels in the seminal plasma of infertile and fertile men, and to analyze the correlation of laminin levels with sperm count, age, sperm motility and semen volume.

METHODSOne hundred and twenty-five recruited men were equally divided into five groups according to their sperm concentration and clinical examination: fertile normozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia, non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), obstructive azoospermia (OA) and congenital bilateral absent vas deferens (CBAVD). The patients' medical history was investigated and patients underwent clinical examination, conventional semen analysis and estimation of seminal plasma laminin by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTSSeminal plasma laminin levels of successive groups were: 2.82 +/- 0.62, 2.49 +/- 0.44, 1.77 +/- 0.56, 1.72 +/- 0.76, 1.35 +/- 0.63 U/mL, respectively. The fertile normozoospermic group showed the highest concentration compared to all infertile groups with significant differences compared to azoospermic groups (P<0.05). Testicular contribution was estimated to be approximately one-third of the seminal laminin. Seminal plasma laminin demonstrated significant correlation with sperm concentration (r = 0.460, P < 0.001) and nonsignificant correlation with age (r = 0.021, P = 0.940), sperm motility percentage (r = 0.142, P = 0.615) and semen volume (r = 0.035, P = 0.087).

CONCLUSIONSeminal plasma laminin is derived mostly from prostatic and testicular portions and minimally from the seminal vesicle and vas deferens. Estimating seminal laminin alone is not conclusive in diagnosing different cases of male infertility.

Adult ; Azoospermia ; physiopathology ; Fertility ; physiology ; Humans ; Infertility, Male ; physiopathology ; Laminin ; metabolism ; Male ; Oligospermia ; physiopathology ; Semen ; physiology ; Sperm Count ; Sperm Motility

Objective: To investigate the value of combined chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) and conventional magnetizationtransfer imaging (MT) in detecting metabolic and structural changes of renal fibrosis in rats with unilateral ureteral obstruction(UUO) at 3T MRI. Materials and Methods: Thirty-five Sprague-Dawley rats underwent UUO surgery (n = 25) or sham surgery (n = 10). Theobstructed and contralateral kidneys were evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 after surgery. After CEST and MT examinations,18F-labeled fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography was performed to quantify glucose metabolism. Fibrosis wasmeasured by histology and western blots. Correlations were compared between asymmetrical magnetization transfer ratio at1.2 ppm (MTRasym(1.2ppm)) derived from CEST and maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax) and between magnetization transferratio (MTR) derived from MT and alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). Results: On days 3 and 7, MTRasym(1.2ppm) and MTR of UUO renal cortex and medulla were significantly different from those ofcontralateral kidneys (p < 0.05). On day 7, MTRasym(1.2ppm) and MTR of UUO renal cortex and medulla were significantly differentfrom those of sham-operated kidneys (p < 0.05). The MTRasym(1.2ppm) of UUO renal medulla was fairly negatively correlated withSUVmax (r = -0.350, p = 0.021), whereas MTR of UUO renal medulla was strongly negatively correlated with α-SMA (r = -0.744, p <0.001). Conclusion CEST and MT could provide metabolic and structural information for comprehensive assessment of renal fibrosisin UUO rats in 3T MRI and may aid in clinical monitoring of renal fibrosis in patients with chronic kidney disease.