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The World Journal of Men's Health Jan 2024The advent of proteomics provides new opportunities to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying male infertility. The selection of relevant targets based on a...
PURPOSE
The advent of proteomics provides new opportunities to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying male infertility. The selection of relevant targets based on a single analysis is not always feasible, due to the growing number of proteomic studies with conflicting results. Thus, this study aimed to systematically review investigations comparing the sperm proteome of normozoospermic and infertile men to define a panel of proteins with the potential to be used to evaluate sperm quality.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases following the PRISMA guidelines. To identify proteins systematically reported, first the studies were divided by condition into four groups (asthenozoospermia, low motility, unexplained infertility, and infertility related to risk factors) and then, all studies were analysed simultaneously (poor sperm quality). To gain molecular insights regarding identified proteins, additional searches were performed within the Human Protein Atlas, Mouse Genome Informatics, UniProt, and PubMed databases.
RESULTS
Thirty-two studies were included and divided into 4 sub-analysis groups. A total of 2752 proteins were collected, of which 38, 1, 3 and 2 were indicated as potential markers for asthenozoospermia, low motility, unexplained infertility and infertility related to risk factors, respectively, and 58 for poor sperm quality. Among the identified proteins, ACR, ACRBP, ACRV1, ACTL9, AKAP4, ATG3, CCT2, CFAP276, CFAP52, FAM209A, GGH, HPRT1, LYZL4, PRDX6, PRSS37, REEP6, ROPN1B, SPACA3, SOD1, SPEM1, SPESP1, SPINK2, TEKT5, and ZPBP were highlighted due to their roles in male reproductive tissues, association with infertility phenotypes or participation in specific biological functions in spermatozoa.
CONCLUSIONS
Sperm proteomics allows the identification of protein markers with the potential to overcome limitations in male infertility diagnosis and to understand changes in sperm function at the molecular level. This study provides a reliable list of systematically reported proteins that could be potential targets for further basic and clinical studies.
PubMed: 37118964
DOI: 10.5534/wjmh.220262 -
Efficacy and safety of acupuncture for the treatment of oligoasthenozoospermia: A systematic review.Andrologia Feb 2020Oligoasthenozoospermia is a common factor leading to male infertility. Acupuncture has been applied for treating male infertility for several thousand years in China,...
Oligoasthenozoospermia is a common factor leading to male infertility. Acupuncture has been applied for treating male infertility for several thousand years in China, but clinical evidence of its efficacy and safety in treating oligoasthenozoospermia is yet to be established. This review aimed to systematically assess the evidence on the effect of acupuncture in males with oligoasthenozoospermia. Databases (PubMed, EMBASE, SINOMED, CNKI, Wanfang database and Cochrane Library) were searched to identify related studies published before 30th June 2019. The Cochrane risk of bias tool and Jadad score was adopted to assess the methodological quality of included studies. Twelve randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with 1,088 participants were included in this review. The aim of this study was to perform a meta-analysis, but it was not possible due to considerable clinical heterogeneity among the included studies. According to the narrative analysis, acupuncture or acupuncture combined with another intervention was effective in improving the semen quality based on the included studies. However, this result should be interpreted with caution due to high risk. The methodological quality of most included studies was low. The current evidence on acupuncture for oligoasthenozoospermia is inadequate to draw a solid conclusion due to the poor methodological quality. Rigorous full-scale RCTs are needed to validate the therapeutic efficacy and safety of acupuncture in treating oligoasthenozoospermia.
Topics: Acupuncture Therapy; Asthenozoospermia; Humans; Male; Oligospermia; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Semen Analysis; Treatment Outcome
PubMed: 31670423
DOI: 10.1111/and.13415 -
Reproductive Biomedicine Online Nov 2018The use of testicular spermatozoa in men without azoospermia has been proposed as a means to increase the chances of pregnancy following assisted reproductive treatment....
The use of testicular spermatozoa in men without azoospermia has been proposed as a means to increase the chances of pregnancy following assisted reproductive treatment. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess whether clinical outcomes are better when testicular rather than ejaculated spermatozoa are used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection in patients with abnormal semen parameters without azoospermia. A literature search identified four eligible studies out of 757 initially found. In a prospective study in men with high DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and oligozoospermia, the probability of live birth was significantly higher with testicular compared to ejaculated spermatozoa (risk ratio [RR]: 1.75, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14-2.70). This was not the case in a retrospective study in men with high DFI only (RR: 2.36, 95% CI: 0.98-5.68). Clinical pregnancy rates were similar in a randomized controlled trial in men with asthenozoospermia with or without teratozoospermia (RR: 2.85, 95% CI: 0.76-10.69) and in a retrospective study in men with isolated asthenozoospermia (RR: 1.09, 95% CI: 0.56-2.14). Currently, there is limited, low-quality evidence suggesting that a higher probability of pregnancy might be expected using testicular rather than ejaculated spermatozoa, only in men with high DFI and oligozoospermia.
Topics: Adult; DNA Fragmentation; Ejaculation; Female; Humans; Male; Oligospermia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Rate; Semen Analysis; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; Sperm Retrieval; Testis
PubMed: 30539719
DOI: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.08.017