title: Alpha 6 beta 1 Integrin is a potential clinical marker for evaluating sperm quality in men.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the clinical significance of alpha6beta1 integrin in human spermatozoa.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case-controlled study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospital infertility clinic in India.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-two men undergoing evaluation for infertility and 20 healthy, proven-fertile controls were selected.
  
  
  METHODS
  Role of alpha6beta1integrin in sperm quality evaluation was determined using semen analysis, cell ELISA, flow cytometry, and in vitro sperm-egg binding.
  
  
  METHODS
  Determination of sperm-associated alpha6beta1 integrin may help in assessing the quality of the human spermatozoa.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Expression of alpha6beta1 integrin was significantly low in the spermatozoa obtained from subfertile men. Only 35%-40% of spermatozoa from fertile men showed a positive reaction to alpha6beta1 antibody. The samples with high rate of acrosomal reaction showed a good expression of alpha6beta1 and maximum binding to oocyte in an in vitro binding assay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  alpha6beta1 Integrin may be used as a clinical marker to evaluate sperm quality.
authors.affiliation: Immunology Laboratory, National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health, Indian Council of Medical Research, Parel, Mumbai, India. shrichi@rediffmail.com
authors.forename: Venkata Rami K
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: Shrimali K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Rajeev
authors.forename: Vijayalakshmi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis*; D039121:Integrin alpha6beta1 / Q000032:analysis* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D039121:Integrin alpha6beta1