{"title":"Unwrapping the immunological alterations in testicular germ cell tumors: From immune homeostasis to malignancy and emerging immunotherapies","authors":"Hadiseh Farahani, Reza Darvishvand, Aida Khademolhosseini, Nasrollah Erfani","doi":"10.1111/andr.13751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13751","url":null,"abstract":"BackgroundTesticular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), derived from primordial germ cells, are rare malignancies with high curative potential. However, the emergence of new evidence indicating that 15% of patients experience tumor progression, leading to death, underscores the need for innovative therapeutics.ObjectivesThis review aimed to explore the immune status in maintaining testicular health and the immune‐related aspects of malignancy. Furthermore, it presents an overview of current data on the use of immunotherapy for TGCT patients.Results DiscussionRecent advances in immunology have opened a promising avenue for studying diseases and highlighted its role in treating diseases. While the immunopathological facets of TGCTs are not fully understood, investigations suggest a complex interplay among testis‐resident immune cells, testis‐specific cells (i.e., Sertoli cells (SCs) and Leydig cells (LCs)), and immune‐regulating mediators (e.g., sex hormones) in the normal testicle that foster the testicular immune privilege (TIP). Although TIP plays a crucial role in sperm production, it also makes testis vulnerable to tumor development. In the context of cancer‐related inflammation, disruption of TIP leads to an imbalanced immune response, resulting in chronic inflammation that can contribute to testicular tissue dysfunction or loss, potentially aiding in cancer invasion and progression.ConclusionComparing the immune profiles of normal and malignant testes is valuable and may provide insights into different aspects of testicular immunity and immune‐based treatment approaches. For patients resistant to chemotherapy and with a poor prognosis, immunotherapy has shown promising results. However, its effectiveness in treating resistant TGCTs or preventing tumor recurrence is still uncertain.","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142185808","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-10DOI: 10.1111/andr.13750
Shichao Wei, Junshen Xiao, Feng Ju, Zhaoyang Hu
{"title":"Aloperine protects the testis against testicular ischemia/reperfusion injury in rats","authors":"Shichao Wei, Junshen Xiao, Feng Ju, Zhaoyang Hu","doi":"10.1111/andr.13750","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13750","url":null,"abstract":"BackgroundTesticular torsion/detorsion can cause testis loss and infertility. Aloperine is a major active alkaloid extracted from <jats:italic>Sophora alopecuroides</jats:italic> Linn. It has been shown to have organ‐protective effects. However, the effects of aloperine on the testis and its underlying mechanisms remain unclear.ObjectivesThis study investigated the effect of aloperine on testicular torsion/detorsion injury in rats.Materials and MethodsMale Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomized to the sham‐operated (sham), testicular I/R (TI/R), or aloperine preconditioning (ALOPre) or postconditioning (ALOPost) groups. All rats except for the sham‐operated rats were subjected to 3 h of right spermatic cord torsion (720°, clockwise), followed by 3 h of detorsion. Aloperine (10 mg/kg) was intravenously administered before testicular torsion (ALOPre) or at the onset of testicular detorsion (ALOPost). The therapeutic efficacy of aloperine was evaluated by histological analysis, oxidative stress evaluation, inflammatory response examination, apoptosis analysis, protein analysis, and immunohistological assessment.ResultsCompared with TI/R, aloperine protected both the ipsilateral and contralateral testes against unilateral testicular I/R, as evidenced by a reduced testicular weight to body weight (TW/BW) ratio (ALOPre: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0037; ALOPost: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0021) and volume (ALOPre: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0020; ALOPost: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0009), less structural damage with better Johnsen (ALOPre: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0013; ALOPost: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.0021), and Cosentino scores (ALOPre: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>< 0.0001; ALOPost: <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>< 0.0001), increased mean seminiferous tubule diameter and mean seminiferous tubule epithelial height, decreased testicular apoptosis, and less oxidative stress and inflammatory response. In addition, aloperine significantly stimulated the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT)‐3 in the ipsilateral testes following detorsion. Administration of Ag490 suppressed STAT‐3 phosphorylation, thereby abrogating the protective effects exerted by aloperine on the ipsilateral testis.Discussion and ConclusionAloperine has a strong testicular protective effect on the ipsilateral and contralateral testes after testicular torsion/detorsion. This aloperine‐induced ipsilateral testicular protection is mediated via the STAT‐3 signaling pathway.","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142224414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-10DOI: 10.1111/andr.13747
Martin Miner, Christina Wang, Jed Kaminetsky, Mohit Khera, Irwin Goldstein, Culley Carson, Nachiappan Chidambaram, Shelby King, Adrian Dobs
{"title":"Safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of oral testosterone undecanoate in males with hypogonadism","authors":"Martin Miner, Christina Wang, Jed Kaminetsky, Mohit Khera, Irwin Goldstein, Culley Carson, Nachiappan Chidambaram, Shelby King, Adrian Dobs","doi":"10.1111/andr.13747","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13747","url":null,"abstract":"BackgroundTestosterone deficiency results from insufficient testosterone production. Testosterone therapy may require dose titration to reach eugonadal serum testosterone concentrations.ObjectiveThe primary objective was the efficacy of oral testosterone undecanoate (TLANDO; Antares Pharma Inc.) in male patients with documented hypogonadism. Secondary objectives included a comparison of oral testosterone undecanoate safety and quality‐of‐life assessments to 1.62% topical testosterone gel (AndroGel 1.62%; AbbVie).Materials and methodsIn this phase 3 study, 315 patients were randomized 2:1 to oral testosterone undecanoate or 1.62% topical testosterone gel (NCT02081300). Patients received 225 mg oral testosterone undecanoate twice daily, and doses were adjusted by 75 mg/dose at weeks 4 and 8 based on average serum total testosterone concentration and maximum observed serum concentration. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients receiving oral testosterone undecanoate with serum total testosterone concentration within the eugonadal reference range (300–1140 ng/dL). Secondary endpoints included the proportion of patients with maximum serum total testosterone concentrations within predetermined limits, safety parameters, and quality‐of‐life endpoints including the Short Form‐36v2 Health Survey, Psychosexual Daily Questionnaire, and International Prostate Symptom Score.ResultsOverall mean ± SD baseline testosterone was 205.7 ± 71.6 ng/dL. For patients receiving oral testosterone undecanoate, 87.4% demonstrated a 24‐h average serum total testosterone concentration within the reference range following titration. Oral testosterone undecanoate demonstrated a nominal statistically significantly greater mean change from baseline than 1.62% topical testosterone gel for Short Form‐36v2 Health Survey measures of mental health (2.91 vs. ‐0.10; <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.035), and mental component summary (3.82 vs. 0.55; <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.009); and Psychosexual Daily Questionnaire measure of weekly negative mood (‐0.57 vs. ‐0.20; <jats:italic>p </jats:italic>= 0.021). Safety endpoints were comparable between therapies. No deaths or treatment‐related serious adverse events were reported.Discussion and conclusionMale patients with hypogonadism receiving oral testosterone undecanoate 225 mg twice daily demonstrated improvements in libido and sexual frequency. Serum testosterone concentrations were within the reference range in 87% of patients without dose titration.","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142224416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-06DOI: 10.1111/andr.13756
Patricia Peris-Frau, Ana Sanchez-Rodriguez, Rosario Velázquez, Adolfo Toledano-Díaz, Cristina Castaño, Eduardo R S Roldan, Julián Santiago-Moreno
{"title":"Capacitation of ram spermatozoa promotes changes in energy metabolism and aquaporin 3 and is affected by individual testosterone variations.","authors":"Patricia Peris-Frau, Ana Sanchez-Rodriguez, Rosario Velázquez, Adolfo Toledano-Díaz, Cristina Castaño, Eduardo R S Roldan, Julián Santiago-Moreno","doi":"10.1111/andr.13756","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13756","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Recently, the metabolic pathways involved in energy production and the role of aquaglyceroporins in capacitation-associated events have been studied in humans and mice. However, little is known about these in ram spermatozoa.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>The present study investigated bioenergetic and aquaglyceroporin 3 variations during in vitro capacitation of ram spermatozoa. In addition, differences in testosterone levels between males were examined to determine their influence on capacitation-like changes.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Spermatozoa obtained from nine rams (ejaculates = 36) were incubated for 180 min in three different media (control, capacitating, and aquaglyceroporin-inhibitor media) at 38.5°C. At 0 and 180 min of incubation in each medium, sperm viability, kinetics, chlortetracycline patterns, adenosine triphosphate concentration, lactate excretion (final subproduct of glycolysis), and immunolocalization of aquaporin 3 were evaluated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The increment of the capacitated spermatozoa-chlortetracycline pattern and the hyperactivated-like movement characterized by the highest curvilinear velocity and amplitude of lateral head displacement and the lowest linearity was only recorded after 180 min in the capacitating medium. At this time and conditions, adenosine triphosphate content and lactate excretion decreased, whereas the aquaglyceroporin 3 location in the midpiece and principal piece increased compared to 0 min. Such changes were not observed in the control medium over time. Incubation in the aquaglyceroporin-inhibitor medium for 180 min reduced drastically sperm motility and adenosine triphosphate content compared to the other media. Testosterone analysis revealed a significant individual variability, which was also present in all sperm parameters evaluated. Furthermore, testosterone was negatively correlated with adenosine triphosphate content but positively correlated with lactate excretion levels, sperm viability, motility, capacitated sperm-chlortetracycline pattern, and aquaglyceroporin 3 immunolabeling in the midpiece and principal piece.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite individual differences, capacitation of ram spermatozoa increases adenosine triphosphate consumption, energy metabolism, and aquaglyceroporin 3 location in the midpiece and principal piece, which seems to be related to the acquisition of hyperactivated-like motility. Furthermore, testosterone levels may serve as a valuable tool to select those males with a greater sperm metabolism rate and fertilizing capacity.</p>","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142139058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-05DOI: 10.1111/andr.13754
Zaiqing Qu, Di Zhao, Longda Wang, Shiyu Yang, Shuhua Zhao
{"title":"Effect of sperm DNA fragmentation on the cumulative live birth rate in patients undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment.","authors":"Zaiqing Qu, Di Zhao, Longda Wang, Shiyu Yang, Shuhua Zhao","doi":"10.1111/andr.13754","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13754","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Sperm DNA fragmentation testing is a valuable tool for predicting male infertility independent of routine semen analysis. However, it remains unclear whether sperm DNA fragmentation affects in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes, especially their live birth rates. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sperm DNA fragmentation on the cumulative live birth rates over 1 year of in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective study included 5050 couples who had undergone in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment from 2016 to 2022. These patients were divided into four groups according to their sperm DNA fragmentation percentages (group 1: sperm DNA fragmentation ≤10%, group 2: > 10% to ≤20%, group3: > 20% to ≤30%, and group 4: > 30%) determined using the sperm chromatin dispersion assay. Both conservative and optimistic methods were used for estimating cumulative live birth rates, the primary outcome, was defined as an ongoing pregnancy leading to live birth that had arisen from all embryo transfers performed within 1 year following the first ovum pick-up.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The conservative and optimistic cumulative live birth rates showed no significant differences between sperm DNA fragmentation groups when total patients or in vitro fertilization patients were analyzed while adjusting for the confounders. However, compared with those in the group with low sperm DNA fragmentation values (≤10%), the conservative cumulative live birth rate was significantly decreased in intracytoplasmic sperm injection patients in the group with sperm DNA fragmentation > 30%, and the optimistic cumulative live birth rates were significantly decreased in intracytoplasmic sperm injection patients in the three groups with high sperm DNA fragmentation values (> 10% to ≤20%, > 20% to ≤30%, > 30%). These results were further confirmed by the analyses of smooth curves generated by generalized additive models. In intracytoplasmic sperm injection patients, the cumulative live birth rates decreased significantly as the sperm DNA fragmentation increased (p = 0.034), and these effects were stronger with the increase in female age. A similar pattern of correlation between sperm DNA fragmentation and cumulative live birth rate was found in in vitro fertilization patients, but the correlation was not significant (p = 0.232).</p><p><strong>Discussion and conclusion: </strong>Sperm DNA fragmentation has a significant effect on the cumulative probability of achieving a live birth during 1 year of treatment involving intracytoplasmic sperm injection.</p>","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142131665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-04DOI: 10.1111/andr.13752
Ming Wang, Qiushi Liu, Hui Gao, Dangwei Peng, Weinan Wang, Juncheng Ma, Zihang Chen, Wangheng Zhang, Tommaso B Jannini, Emmanuele A Jannini, Hui Jiang, Xiansheng Zhang
{"title":"Efficacy and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in anejaculation: A randomized controlled trial.","authors":"Ming Wang, Qiushi Liu, Hui Gao, Dangwei Peng, Weinan Wang, Juncheng Ma, Zihang Chen, Wangheng Zhang, Tommaso B Jannini, Emmanuele A Jannini, Hui Jiang, Xiansheng Zhang","doi":"10.1111/andr.13752","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13752","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Anejaculation represents significant psychological distress and sexual and reproductive challenges among male individuals and couples. Effective fertility management options are available to address the reproductive challenges associated with anejaculation. However, there is a lack of methods to reverse the condition itself.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients suffering from anejaculation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A total of 94 patients with anejaculation individuals were randomly assigned to receive high-frequency (HF) stimulation on the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), low-frequency (LF) stimulation on the right DLPFC, and sham stimulation for 4 weeks, with daily sessions of stimulation occurring on five consecutive weekdays each week.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>After 4 weeks of rTMS treatment, the patients in both the HF and LF groups exhibited a similar reduction in their male sexual health questionnaire for ejaculatory dysfunction bother/satisfaction score, Hamilton Anxiety Scale score, Hamilton Depression Scale score, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Inventory score, which were statistically significant compared with sham treatment. Additionally, there were no significant differences observed in erectile function and cognitive function across the three groups. However, there were notable disparities in the cure rates between HF- and LF-group patients (16.1% vs. 54.8%, p = 0.001). Additionally, it is worth noting that only two HF group patients and one LF group patient experienced spontaneously resolving minor adverse effects during the treatment process. At the 8-week follow-up, among patients who initially responded to the treatment, only one from the HF group experienced a relapse.</p><p><strong>Discussion and conclusion: </strong>The findings of this study demonstrate that rTMS represents a secure and efficacious remedy for anejaculation patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142124531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
AndrologyPub Date : 2024-09-04DOI: 10.1111/andr.13739
Oleg Sergeyev, Vitalik Bezuglov, Natalia Soloveva, Luidmila Smigulina, Tatiana Denisova, Yury Dikov, Victoria Shtratnikova, Nikita Vavilov, Paige L Williams, Susan Korrick, Mary M Lee, Victor Zgoda, Russ Hauser, Alexander Suvorov
{"title":"Intraindividual variability of semen quality, proteome, and sncRNA profiles in a healthy cohort of young adults.","authors":"Oleg Sergeyev, Vitalik Bezuglov, Natalia Soloveva, Luidmila Smigulina, Tatiana Denisova, Yury Dikov, Victoria Shtratnikova, Nikita Vavilov, Paige L Williams, Susan Korrick, Mary M Lee, Victor Zgoda, Russ Hauser, Alexander Suvorov","doi":"10.1111/andr.13739","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.13739","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Within-subject variability of semen parameters and molecular components of ejaculates in young men remains poorly understood.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To investigate intraindividual variability (IIV) of semen parameters and molecular markers in repeated ejaculates from young men.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>Semen parameters were assessed in samples collected 6-8 days apart from 164 18-19-year old participants of the Russian Children's Study, a prospective cohort. Subsets of paired samples were used for label-free quantitation and targeted mass-spectrometry of proteins in seminal plasma (SP) and seminal extracellular vesicles (EVs), and for small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) profiling in EVs and spermatozoa using RNA-seq. The mean difference between two ejaculates, within-subject variation, intraclass correlation, and concordance correlation were used to assess IIV for all parameters. Low variability with high reproducibility and high reliability was considered if CV<sub>w</sub> < 15% and ICC > 0.90, respectively.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Analytical variability was low for all investigated parameters in technical replicates. IIV was assessed for basic semen parameters and proteins in SPs and EVs: 319 and 777 proteins, respectively, using untargeted analysis; 9 and 10 proteins using targeted quantification. We also described the IIV for sncRNA, including microRNA, piwi-interacting RNA, tRNA, and tRNA-derived small RNA (tsRNA) in EVs (409 sncRNA and 78 tsRNA) and in spermatozoa (265 sncRNA and 15 tsRNA). We identified 22 and 27 non-overlapping proteins in SP and EVs, respectively, and 46 and 9 sncRNA, including 5 and 0 tsRNA in seminal EVs and spermatozoa, respectively, with low variability. The fatty acid synthase (FAS) had the lowest IIV in both media in targeted protein quantification.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>We identified a number of proteins and sncRNA with low variability among 111 proteins, 176 sncRNA, and 12 tsRNA which were previously suggested as biomarkers of male fertility and reproductive outcomes: lactotransferrin, cysteine-rich secretory protein 3, alpha-1-antichymotrypsin, epididymal sperm-binding protein 1, glutathione S-transferase Mu 3, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein 2, serum amyloid P-component, aminopeptidase N, neprilysin, FAS, and miR-10b-3p, miR-122-5p, miR-205-5p, miR-222-3p, miR-34c-5p, miR-509-3-5p, miR-888-5p, miR-892a, miR-363-3p, miR-941, miR-146a-5p, miR-744-5p.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These molecules have low IIV and may be promising candidate biomarkers of male fertility and reproductive health.</p>","PeriodicalId":7898,"journal":{"name":"Andrology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142124532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}