title: Involvement of the inflammasome in abnormal semen quality of men with spinal cord injury.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the mechanism leading to elevated semen cytokines in men with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to understand if inflammasome pathways are involved in this process. To investigate inflammasome components and end-product cytokines in semen of SCI and control subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Major university medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Men with and without SCI (n = 28 per group).
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seminal plasma concentrations of caspase-1, interleukin (IL) 1β, and IL-18 were quantified by ELISA. Caspase-1 in sperm fractions and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC) in seminal plasma and sperm fractions were identified by Western blot. Localization of proteins in sperm was accomplished by immunocytochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ASC, caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 concentrations were elevated in the seminal plasma of SCI subjects compared with control subjects. ASC and caspase-1 were elevated in sperm cells of SCI subjects. Immunocytochemistry revealed that ASC was located in the acrosome, equatorial segment, and midpiece, and caspase-1 in the midpiece.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides the first evidence of ASC in human semen and demonstrates the involvement of inflammasome proteins in semen of men with SCI. These findings suggest an immunologic basis for abnormal semen quality in men with SCI.
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Xianyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida. Electronic address: e.ibrahim@miami.edu.
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Juan Pablo
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: de Rivero Vaccari
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lotocki
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Teodoro C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Aballa
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: W Dalton
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida; Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Keane
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Charles M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lynne
authors.affiliation: Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida.
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Brackett
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000378:metabolism; D000328:Adult; D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020170:Caspase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D058847:Inflammasomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D020382:Interleukin-18 / Q000378:metabolism; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism*; D055101:Semen Analysis; D032961:Sperm Midpiece / Q000378:metabolism; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053468:CARD Signaling Adaptor Proteins; D058847:Inflammasomes; D020382:Interleukin-18; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D020170:Caspase 1