• PMID: 17880957
• Gene Name: HSPA4
• Condition: Male infertility
• Association: Hsp 70 expression may have been increased as a protective mechanism against apoptosis in spermatozoa of infertile men.
• Population size: 50
• Population details: 50 (37 infertile men, 13 fertile men (as controls))
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Male infertility

The role of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp 70) in male infertility: is it a line of defense against sperm DNA fragmentation?

Erata GO, Koçak Toker N, Durlanik O, Kadio?lu A, Aktan G, Aykaç Toker G.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp 70) and its relation with DNA damage in male infertility. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Andrology laboratory of Istanbul Medical Faculty. PATIENT(S): Semen samples from 37 infertile men and 13 fertile men (as controls). INTERVENTION(S): The percentage of DNA fragmentation was assayed with the use of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL). Sperm Hsp 70 expression was determined by using Western blot analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Both the percentages of sperm DNA fragmentation and Hsp 70 expression were correlated with semen analysis parameters. RESULTS: TUNEL-positive spermatozoa in the infertile group (18.7% for asthenospermics and 13.0% for oligoasthenospermics) were higher than the fertile group (4.9%). Significant inverse correlations were detected between percentage of TUNEL-positive cells and both concentration (r = -0.487) and motility (r = -0.377) of spermatozoa. No expression of Hsp 70 was observed in azospermic group, whereas Hsp 70 levels were found increased significantly in infertile group (U = 62 for asthenospermics and U = 38 for oligoasthenospermics) compared to fertile group as analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U Wilcoxon rank sum test. Furthermore, significant positive correlation was found between percentage of TUNEL-positive cells and Hsp 70 expression (r = 0.357). CONCLUSION(S): Hsp 70 expression may have been increased as a protective mechanism against apoptosis in spermatozoa of infertile men. FAU - Erata, Gül Ozdemirler AU - Erata GO AD - Department of Biochemistry, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Capa, Istanbul, Turkey. gul_erata@yahoo.com FAU - Koçak Toker, Necla AU - Koçak Toker N FAU - Durlanik, Ozgür AU - Durlanik O FAU - Kadioğlu, Ateş AU - Kadioğlu A FAU - Aktan, Gülşen AU - Aktan G