Proteins in seminal fluid may identify infertility in men. A new non-invasive and cost effective procedure developed by Drabovich et al. may be the future of diagnosing and treating azoopermia (absence of sperm in the semen).
Drabovich and her colleagues found that the semen of men after vasectomy or with azoospermia had altered levels of proteins compared to men with normal semen parameters. In fact, 20 proteins were significantly altered in men without sperm in their semen.
Interestingly, the Leydig (testosterone producing) cell protein SPAG11B is abundant in normal and azoospermatic men while the Sertoli (sperm supporting) cell protein TEX101 is significantly decreased in post-vasectomy and azoospermatic men. Thus Sertoli cell dysfunction may be one cause of azoopermia.
While more work is needed to fully characterize effected proteins, this method- coined “Multiplex selected reaction monitoring assay”- will be important for the future treatment and diagnosis of many types of male factor infertility.
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