Vim3 and Mxi-2 as Promising New Molecular Biomarkers for the Diagnosis of Sperm Disorders

IF 2.1 4区医学 Q3 ANDROLOGY

Andrologia Pub Date : 2025-02-12 DOI:10.1155/and/1233135

Richard Weiten, Jan Herden, Manuel Huerta, Tim Nestler, Johan Denil, Axel Heidenreich, Enno Storz, Melanie von Brandenstein

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Abstract

Introduction: Male infertility remains a significant clinical challenge that requires the exploration of new diagnostics strategies. Truncated proteins, such as Vim3, a truncated variant of vimentin, show promise as a new class of biomarkers for diagnosing fertility disorders. Our objective was to assess the potential utility of Vim3 and Mxi-2, a shortened iteration of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38, as noninvasive biomarkers for diagnosing sperm disorders.

Methods: Semen samples of 19 fertile males (control group) and 82 infertile males with semen abnormalities and no female factor (n = 28 OAT [oligo–astheno–teratozoospermia] syndrome, n = 8 azoospermia, n = 29 teratozoospermia, n = 11 astheno–teratozoospermia, and n = 6 oligozoospermia) were analyzed using ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) and flow cytometry. Furthermore, we conducted a lateral flow assay (LFA) specific to Vim3.

Results: Our analysis revealed that Vim3 and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression levels were significantly downregulated in non-normozoospermic patients (e.g., OAT syndrome), while Mxi-2 was overexpressed in these patients compared to the control group (p < 0.01). Additionally, we introduced a novel LFA that provides a user-friendly and effective method for examining Vim3 as a biomarker in clinical settings.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that Vim3 and Mxi-2 have potential as noninvasive semen biomarkers for diagnosing sperm disorders.

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Vim3和Mxi-2有望成为诊断精子疾病的新分子生物标志物

简介：男性不育仍然是一个重大的临床挑战，需要探索新的诊断策略。截断蛋白，如Vim3 （vimentin的一种截断变体），有望成为诊断生育障碍的一类新的生物标志物。我们的目的是评估Vim3和Mxi-2作为诊断精子疾病的无创生物标志物的潜在效用。Mxi-2是丝裂原活化蛋白激酶（MAPK） p38的缩短迭代。方法：采用ELISA（酶联免疫吸附法）和流式细胞术对19例可育男性（对照组）和82例精液异常且无女性因素的不育男性（OAT综合征28例、无精子症8例、畸胎化精子症29例、无精子症11例、少精子症6例）的精液样本进行分析。此外，我们进行了针对Vim3的横向流动试验（LFA）。结果：我们的分析显示，与对照组相比，非正常精子患者（如OAT综合征）的Vim3和内皮素-1 （ET-1）表达水平显著下调，而Mxi-2在这些患者中过表达(p <；0.01)。此外，我们介绍了一种新的LFA，它提供了一种用户友好且有效的方法来检测Vim3作为临床环境中的生物标志物。结论：Vim3和Mxi-2具有作为诊断精子疾病的无创精子生物标志物的潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Andrologia 医学-男科学

CiteScore

5.60

自引率

8.30%

发文量

292

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Andrologia provides an international forum for original papers on the current clinical, morphological, biochemical, and experimental status of organic male infertility and sexual disorders in men. The articles inform on the whole process of advances in andrology (including the aging male), from fundamental research to therapeutic developments worldwide. First published in 1969 and the first international journal of andrology, it is a well established journal in this expanding area of reproductive medicine.