Enzyme and hormonal markers in the differential diagnosis of human azoospermia.
The serum concentrations of FSH, LH, prolactin, testosterone, and estradiol and the enzymatic activities of hyaluronidase, glucosidases (alpha-glucosidase, beta-glucosidase, alpha-mannosidase, N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, beta-glucuronidase, and beta-galactosidase), lactate dehydrogenase and its isoenzymes (LDH1, LDH2, LDH3, LDH-X, LDH4), and total proteins were measured in the semen of 69 subjects (8 normozoospermic controls, 7 secretory, and 54 excretory azoospermic subjects). FSH levels rose with the deterioration in spermatogenesis and served to differentiate the secretory from the excretory azoospermias. The only source of hyaluronidase and LDH-X in the ejaculate is the spermatozoa. alpha-Glucosidase activity essentially originates in the epididymis. The seminal determination of alpha-glucosidase and, to a lesser extent, alpha-mannosidase and N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase helps rapidly, sensitivity, reliably, and noninvasively to differentiate secretory azoospermias (with higher enzymatic activity) from the excretory type (less enzymatic activity) and may be of use in identifying with a certain degree of reliability the site of obstruction in the male genital tract.
García Díez
L C
LC
Servicio de Endocrinología, Hospital Clínico Universitario, Salamanca, Spain.
Esteban Ruiz
P F
PF
Villar
E
E
Corrales Hernandez
J J
JJ
Burgo
R
R
Delgado
M
M
Miralles
J M
JM
D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004796:Clinical Enzyme Tests; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006728:Hormones / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000201:enzymology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D006728:Hormones