Lotti Francesco, Tamburrino Lara, Marchiani Sara, Maseroli Elisa, Vitale Pasquale, Forti Gianni, Muratori Monica, Maggi Mario, Baldi Elisabetta
Sexual Medicine and Andrology Unit, Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, Center of Excellence DeNothe, University of Florence, Viale Pieraccini 6, I-50036, Florence, Italy.
Asian J Androl. 2017 May-Jun;19(3):272-279. doi: 10.4103/1008-682X.174854.
We investigated whether DNA fragmentation in two cytometric sperm populations (PIdimmer and PIbrighter) with different biological characteristics and clinical relevance is related to clinical and color-Doppler ultrasound (CDUS) parameters of the male genital tract. One hundred and sixty males of infertile couples without genetic abnormalities were evaluated for clinical, scrotal, and transrectal CDUS characteristics, presence of prostatitis-like symptoms (with the National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index) and sperm DNA fragmentation (sDF) in PIdimmer and PIbrighter populations (using TUNEL/PI method coupled with flow cytometry). Data were adjusted for age (Model 1) along with waistline, testosterone levels, smoking habit, and sexual abstinence (Model 2). According to the statistical Model 2, PIdimmer sDF was associated with testicular abnormalities, including lower clinical and ultrasound volume (r = -0.21 and r = -0.20, respectively; P < 0.05), higher FSH levels (r = 0.34, P < 0.0001) and occurrence of testicular inhomogeneity (P < 0.05) and hypoechogenicity (P < 0.05). PIbrighter sDF was associated with prostate-related symptoms and abnormal signs, including higher NIH-CPSI total and subdomain scores, a higher prevalence of prostatitis-like symptoms and of CDUS alterations such as macro-calcifications, severe echo-texture inhomogeneity, hyperemia (all P < 0.05), and higher arterial peak systolic velocity (r = 0.25, P < 0.05). Our results suggest that DNA fragmentation in PIdimmer sperm, which is related to poor semen quality, mainly originates in the testicles, likely due to apoptosis. Conversely, DNA fragmentation in PIbrighter sperm appears to mainly originate during or after transit through the prostate, increasing with the presence of an inflammatory status of the organ. These results could lead to new perspectives for the identification of therapeutic targets to reduce sDF.
我们研究了具有不同生物学特征和临床相关性的两个细胞计量精子群体（PIdimmer和PIbrighter）中的DNA片段化是否与男性生殖道的临床及彩色多普勒超声（CDUS）参数相关。对160对无基因异常的不育夫妇中的男性进行评估，分析其临床、阴囊及经直肠CDUS特征、前列腺炎样症状（采用美国国立卫生研究院慢性前列腺炎症状指数）以及PIdimmer和PIbrighter群体中的精子DNA片段化（sDF）情况（使用TUNEL/PI法结合流式细胞术）。数据针对年龄进行了校正（模型1），同时还校正了腰围、睾酮水平、吸烟习惯和禁欲情况（模型2）。根据统计模型2，PIdimmer sDF与睾丸异常相关，包括较低的临床及超声测量体积（分别为r = -0.21和r = -0.20；P < 0.05）、较高的卵泡刺激素水平（r = 0.34，P < 0.0001）以及睾丸不均匀性的出现（P < 0.05）和低回声（P < 0.05）。PIbrighter sDF与前列腺相关症状及异常体征相关，包括较高的美国国立卫生研究院慢性前列腺炎症状指数总分及各子域评分、较高的前列腺炎样症状患病率以及CDUS改变，如大钙化、严重的回声纹理不均匀、充血（所有P < 0.05），以及较高的动脉收缩期峰值流速（r = 0.25，P < 0.05）。我们的结果表明，与精液质量差相关的PIdimmer精子中的DNA片段化主要起源于睾丸，可能是由于细胞凋亡。相反，PIbrighter精子中的DNA片段化似乎主要起源于通过前列腺的过程中或之后，并随着该器官炎症状态的存在而增加。这些结果可能为识别降低sDF的治疗靶点带来新的视角。
