Journal of Andrology Testis Workshop 2009
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Published-Ahead-of-Print October 2, 2008, 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 Liang Feng , Jay I Sandlow , and Christopher John Haines

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ybhan{at}yahoo.com.

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


Key words: Infertility • estrogen receptor • male infertility • progesterone receptor alpha




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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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