Journal of Andrology
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Published-Ahead-of-Print October 2, 2008, DOI:10.2164/jandrol.108.005157
Journal of Andrology, Vol. 30, No. 2, March/April 2009
Copyright © American Society of Andrology
DOI: 10.2164/jandrol.108.005157

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Comparing Expression of Progesterone and Estrogen Receptors in Testicular Tissue From Men With Obstructive and Nonobstructive Azoospermia

YIBING HAN*, HUAI L. FENG{dagger}, JAY I. SANDLOW{ddagger} AND CHRISTOPHER J. HAINES*

From the * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China; the {dagger} Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, North Shore University Hospital, New York University Medical College, Manhasset, New York; and the {ddagger} Department of Urology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Correspondence to: Dr Yibing Han, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China (e-mail: ybhan{at}cuhk.edu.hk).


The objective of this study was to identify and compare the expression profiles of progesterone receptor (PR) and estrogen receptor {alpha} (ER{alpha}) in the testes of men with obstructive azoospermia (OA), maturation arrest (MA), and Sertoli cell–only (SCO) histology. Testicular biopsies were obtained from 10 patients with OA, 10 patients with MA (either early or late arrest), and 8 patients with SCO who did not have hormonal abnormalities and varicoceles. Expression of PR and ER{alpha} was detected by immunofluorescence and Western blot. PR was expressed in the spermatogenic, Leydig, and Sertoli cells in the testes of OA patients. In the MA and SCO patients, the expression of PR was reduced in all cell types as compared with that in the OA patients. Western blot demonstrated that both the full-size (120 KDa) and the truncated (52 KDa) isoforms of the PR were expressed in the OA and MA testes. However, in the SCO testes, only the truncated isoform of PR (52 KDa) was expressed. ER{alpha} (66 KDa) was expressed principally in the spermatogenic and Leydig cells in the OA testes. By immunohistochemistry staining, expression of ER{alpha} was decreased in the spermatogenic and Leydig cells of the MA testes, whereas its expression was enhanced in the Leydig cells of the SCO testes. However, by Western blot, expression of ER{alpha} was significantly reduced in the SCO testes as compared with that in the OA and MA testes. We conclude that PR and ER{alpha} may play a role in the pathogenesis of the MA and SCO phenotype in patients with infertility.

     Key words: Estrogen receptor {alpha}, male infertility




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Q. Zhang, Q. Bai, Y. Yuan, P. Liu, and J. Qiao
Assessment of Seminal Estradiol and Testosterone Levels as Predictors of Human Spermatogenesis
J Androl, March 1, 2010; 31(2): 215 - 220.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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