• PMID: 21351528
• Gene Name: ESR1
• Condition: Male infertility, Spermatogenic arrest
• Association: Of the 120 specimens from the infertile men, 31 (25.8%) met the diagnostic criteria of spermatogenic arrest. In the testistissue of normal men, ERalpha expressed in Sertoli, myoid and Leydig cells, but not in spermatogenic cells, while in the testis tissu
• Population size: 130
• Population details: 130 (120 infertile men, 10 healthy controls)
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Male infertility, Spermatogenic arrest

[Expression of estrogen receptor alpha in the testis of infertile men with spermatogenic arrest]

Wang G, Gu SY, Chen KN, Wang ZX, Liu TJ, Sun KJ, Zhao YW, Sun FZ, Yin XY.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of spermatogenic arrest with the expression of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in human testes. METHODS: We examined the testicular biopsy specimens of 120 infertile men by HE staining, detected the expression of ERalpha in the specimens of those with spermatogenic arrest by the two-step immunohistochemical method, and compared the results with those of 10 healthy men. RESULTS: Of the 120 specimens from the infertile men, 31 (25.8%) met the diagnostic criteria of spermatogenic arrest. In the testis tissue of normal men, ERalpha expressed in Sertoli, myoid and Leydig cells, but not in spermatogenic cells, while in the testis tissues of those with spermatogenic arrest, ERalpha expressed lowly in Sertoli, myoid and Leydig cells, with statistically significant differences in immunostaining intensity between the two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Androgen receptor (AR) and ERalpha may play a coordinating role in facilitating spermatogenesis. Spermatogenic arrest may be related to a complex series of disorders in cell signal transduction involving AR, ERalpha and HSP90. FAU - Wang, Gang AU - Wang G AD - Department of Urology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050051, China. FAU - Gu, Shou-yi AU - Gu SY FAU - Chen, Kang-ning AU - Chen KN FAU - Wang, Zhen-xian AU - Wang ZX FAU - Liu, Ting-jiang AU - Liu TJ FAU - Sun, Ke-jian AU - Sun KJ FAU - Zhao, Ying-wei AU - Zhao YW FAU - Sun, Fu-zhen AU - Sun FZ