Henkel Ralf, Maass Gesa, Jung Andreas, Haidl Gerhard, Schill Wolf-Bernhard, Schuppe Hans-Christian
Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa.
Asian J Androl. 2007 May;9(3):299-304. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-7262.2007.00270.x.
To investigate age-related inflammatory events in the male genital tract.
In a total of 4265 randomly collected patients attending the andrological outpatient clinic of the Center for Dermatology and Andrology, University of Giessen, Germany, ejaculate volume, pH-value, sperm concentration, total and progressive sperm motility, concentration of polymorphonuclear (PMN) elastase, number of peroxidase-positive cells and fructose were measured and correlated with patient's age.
While ejaculate volume, motility and fructose all correlated negatively with age, sperm concentration, PMN elastase and the pH-value showed a positive correlation. The prevalence of male genital tract inflammation (as defined by PMN elastase > 250 ng/mL) and its severity increased significantly. PMN elastase did not correlate with sperm motility. Fructose as a marker of seminal vesicle function showed a significant negative relationship with the PMN elastase levels, the number of peroxidase-positive cells and sperm motility.
The significant increases of PMN-elastase levels as marker of male genital tract inflammation in older men appear to be indicative of age-related changes in local immunoregulatory mechanisms. Because there is no association of PMN elastase with sperm motility, a direct inhibitory effect of this enzyme can be excluded.
研究男性生殖道中与年龄相关的炎症事件。
在德国吉森大学皮肤病与男科学中心男科门诊随机收集的4265例患者中，测量射精量、pH值、精子浓度、总精子活力和渐进性精子活力、多形核（PMN）弹性蛋白酶浓度、过氧化物酶阳性细胞数量和果糖含量，并将其与患者年龄进行关联分析。
射精量、精子活力和果糖含量均与年龄呈负相关，而精子浓度、PMN弹性蛋白酶和pH值呈正相关。男性生殖道炎症（定义为PMN弹性蛋白酶>250 ng/mL）的患病率及其严重程度显著增加。PMN弹性蛋白酶与精子活力无关。作为精囊功能标志物的果糖与PMN弹性蛋白酶水平、过氧化物酶阳性细胞数量和精子活力呈显著负相关。
老年男性中作为男性生殖道炎症标志物的PMN弹性蛋白酶水平显著升高，似乎表明局部免疫调节机制存在与年龄相关的变化。由于PMN弹性蛋白酶与精子活力无关，可排除该酶的直接抑制作用。
