title: Down-regulation of CatSper1 channel in epididymal spermatozoa contributes to the pathogenesis of asthenozoospermia, whereas up-regulation of the channel by Sheng-Jing-San treatment improves the sperm motility of asthenozoospermia in rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the expression of CatSper1 channel in epididymal spermatozoa in a rat model of asthenozoospermia, induced by cyclophosphamide (CP), and further examine the effects of soluble granules of Sheng-Jing-San (SJS), a traditional Chinese medicine recipe, on CatSper1 expression and sperm motility in the CP-induced asthenozoospermic rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Placebo-controlled, randomized trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sexually mature male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 60).
  
  
  METHODS
  In the CP group, CP at the dose of 35 mg/kg intraperitoneally injected into rats once a day for 7 days; in the normal saline (NS) group, 0.9% saline solution was injected as control.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sperm motility and count were evaluated by computer-assisted sperm assay (CASA); protein and mRNA expression of CatSper1 channel in epididymal spermatozoa was determined by Western blotting and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rats were randomly divided into five groups with 12 rats in each group: CP, normal saline (NS), CP + SJS, CP + NS, and treatment naïve. In the CP + SJS group, after the last injection of CP, SJS at a dose of 30 mg/kg was intragastrically administrated to rats once a day for 14 days; in CP + NS group, saline solution instead of SJS was administrated as control. In the treatment naïve group, rats were normally fed for 21 days as controls. We found a statistically significant reduction of the CatSper1 channel, which is associated with an impairment of sperm motility in the epididymal spermatozoa of CP-induced asthenozoospermic rats. Soluble granules of SJS could dramatically restore the CP-induced down-regulation of CatSper1 in epididymal spermatozoa, which greatly improved the sperm motility in the asthenozoospermic rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Down-regulation of the CatSper1 channel in epididymal spermatozoa likely contributes to the pathogenesis of asthenozoospermia, whereas up-regulation of the channel by SJS improves sperm motility and thus can be used as an effective therapeutic strategy for the treatment of male infertility diagnosed with asthenozoospermia.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, Peking University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ya-Nan
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Cai-Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Guo-Gang
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Xing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D053627:Asthenozoospermia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004822:Epididymis / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; C579284:CatSper1 protein, rat; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C425291:sheng-ji-san