Melatonin is a darkness hormone secreted by the pineal gland, which serves a role in idiopathic oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (iOAT). The present study aimed to evaluate the seminal plasma and serum melatonin levels of 50 patients with iOAT and 50 normal fertile controls and the effects of exposure to light at night on semen parameters. Semen analyses were performed according to the World Health Organization 2010 guidelines. Measurements of serum and seminal plasma melatonin, serum TSH, FT3, FT4, free testosterone, prolactin, FSH and LH were performed using ELISA. The overall results revealed that the serum and seminal plasma levels of melatonin were lower in patients with iOAT compared with the control subjects (P=0.0004 and 0.01, respectively). Patients with iOAT who were exposed to light at night exhibited lower serum and seminal plasma melatonin levels compared with those who were not exposed to light at night (P<0.0001 and 0.02, respectively). Additionally, similar significant differences were identified in control subjects exposed to light at night when compared to non-exposed controls. There was a significantly positive correlation between serum melatonin levels and sperm motility in the entire iOAT patient cohort (r= 0.614; P<0.0001) and a significantly positive correlation between the serum and seminal plasma melatonin levels in the non-exposed iOAT patient subgroup (r=0.753; P<0.001). Thus, darkness and sleep at night may improve the semen parameters of patients with iOAT, as evidenced by the effects of light exposure at night on the serum and seminal plasma levels of melatonin and, consequently, on semen parameters.
been proposed as potential biomarkers of obstructive azoospermia. Our goal was to evaluate sperm specific proteins and microscopic sperm presence in vasal fluid at time of vasectomy reversal.METHODS: Patients undergoing vasectomy reversal were enrolled between 2015-2016. Samples were grouped into groups based on microscopic presence of sperm. Proteomic profiles were generated using liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry, and MS/MS protein spectral counts compared between individuals and treatment groups controlling for less than 5% false discovery rates (FDRs). Differential Expression was assessed using Bioconductor's edgeR package. Proteins were then matched with the human swissprot database. Samples were analyzed with regards to content of 8 known sperm specific proteins.RESULTS: We analyzed 53 vasal samples from 27 patients. A total of 1,692 unique proteins were detected. The presence of sperm specific proteins varied regardless of the microscopic presence of sperm (Table 1). Cysteine-rich secretory protein was abundant in all samples, while Transketolase-like protein 1 and Sperm-associated antigen 11B were absent or very low counts in all samples. Thus, using the 5 remaining sperm specific proteins we were able to identify 273 unique proteins as potential sperm biomarkers; however, no potential biomarkers correlated with microscopic sperm findings. Most common GO terms included viral process, signal transduction, and innate immune response, as well as protein folding and spermatogenesis.CONCLUSIONS: Cysteine-rich secretory protein was abundant in samples regardless of microscopic sperm presence, rendering this a potential biomarker. We identified many processes contributing to the variability of the proteomic profile of vasal fluid at time of vasectomy reversal to include spermatogenesis, degradation, immune and inflammatory responses. Further evaluation is needed to determine if a potential protein biomarker exists that could predict vasectomy reversal fertility outcomes that could alleviate the need for intra-operative light microscopy, aid in procedural planning and provide a counseling tool for patients.
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