Tanaka Takazo, Kojo Kosuke, Nagumo Yoshiyuki, Ikeda Atsushi, Shimizu Takuya, Fujimoto Shunsuke, Kakinuma Toshiyuki, Uchida Masahiro, Kimura Tomokazu, Kandori Shuya, Negoro Hiromitsu, Nishiyama Hiroyuki
Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine University of Tsukuba Tsukuba Ibaraki Japan.
Center for Human Reproduction International University of Health and Welfare Hospital Nasushiobara Tochigi Japan.
Reprod Med Biol. 2024 May 28;23(1):e12584. doi: 10.1002/rmb2.12584. eCollection 2024 Jan-Dec.
To investigate whether seminal plasma (SP)/serum ratios of multiple trace elements (TEs) can classify patients with male subfertility.
SP/serum ratios of 20 TEs (lithium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, cobalt, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, rubidium, strontium, molybdenum, cesium, barium, and thallium) were calculated for healthy volunteers ( = 4) and those consulting for male subfertility ( = 245). Volunteer semen samples were collected by split ejaculation into early and subsequent fractions, and SP/serum ratio data were compared between fractions. The patients' SP/serum ratio data were used in an unsupervised clustering analysis and qualitatively compared with the data from the fractions of ejaculation from the volunteers. Semen quality parameters and pregnancy outcomes were compared between patient clusters.
The early fraction of volunteers was characterized by lower phosphorus and arsenic and 18 other higher TEs than the subsequent fraction. Cluster analysis classified patients into four distinct clusters, one sharing characteristics with the early fraction and another with the subsequent fraction. One cluster with the early fraction characteristics had significantly lower semen volume and higher pregnancy rates from spontaneous pregnancies or intrauterine insemination.
Classification of patients based on SP/serum ratios of multiple TEs represents the dominance of fractions of ejaculation samples.
研究多种微量元素（TEs）的精浆（SP）/血清比值是否可对男性亚生育患者进行分类。
计算了4名健康志愿者和245名男性亚生育咨询者的20种TEs（锂、钠、镁、磷、硫、钾、钙、锰、铁、钴、铜、锌、砷、硒、铷、锶、钼、铯、钡和铊）的SP/血清比值。通过将射精分为初始部分和后续部分来收集志愿者的精液样本，并比较各部分之间的SP/血清比值数据。将患者的SP/血清比值数据用于无监督聚类分析，并与志愿者射精各部分的数据进行定性比较。比较患者各聚类之间的精液质量参数和妊娠结局。
志愿者的初始部分精液中磷和砷含量较低，其他18种TEs含量高于后续部分。聚类分析将患者分为四个不同的聚类，一个聚类与初始部分具有相同特征，另一个与后续部分具有相同特征。具有初始部分特征的一个聚类的精液量显著较低，但自然受孕或宫内人工授精后的妊娠率较高。
基于多种TEs的SP/血清比值对患者进行分类体现了射精样本各部分的优势。
