Faculty Collaboration Database

Comparing expression of progesterone and estrogen receptors in testicular tissue from men with obstructive and nonobstructive azoospermia. J Androl 2009;30(2):127-33

Date

10/07/2008

Pubmed ID

18835831

DOI

10.2164/jandrol.108.005157

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-62649086655 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   27 Citations

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify and compare the expression profiles of progesterone receptor (PR) and estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) 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 ERalpha 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. ERalpha (66 KDa) was expressed principally in the spermatogenic and Leydig cells in the OA testes. By immunohistochemistry staining, expression of ERalpha 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 ERalpha was significantly reduced in the SCO testes as compared with that in the OA and MA testes. We conclude that PR and ERalpha may play a role in the pathogenesis of the MA and SCO phenotype in patients with infertility.

Author List

Han Y, Feng HL, Sandlow JI, Haines CJ

Author

Jay I. Sandlow MD Chair, Professor in the Urologic Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Azoospermia
Blotting, Western
Estrogen Receptor alpha
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Humans
Leydig Cells
Male
Receptors, Progesterone
Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome
Sperm Maturation
Spermatozoa
Testis