Reproduction Abstracts

The diagnosis of male fertility is of importance in humans and animals. Therefore several laboratory techniques have been developed for the evaluation of male fertility. Initial evaluation of male fertility generally depends upon semen analyses. While these tests provide valuable quantitative data, they yield no information concerning the functional competence of the spermatozoa.

To cope with the weak points of conventional semen analyses, several tests relating sperm function have been issued. Although these tests may provide preliminary information on male fertility, very few individual tests showed significant correlations with the successful pregnancy. None of tests have reached their clinical validity. Therefore, more accurate testing tools for male fertility are a well-timed request.

As indicated by several researchers, the establishment of new diagnosis tools requires the development of genomic and proteomic studies in a clinical setting. Recently comparative studies between fertile and subfertile/infertile spermatozoa have been initiated to investigate male fertility at the gene and protein levels.

To identify the true biomarkers for the diagnosis of male fertility, we suggest three strategies in a proteomic approach. First, a comprehensive proteomic study will be necessary to identify the differential quantities of proteins present in spermatozoa at different maturation stages, fertility statuses, and species levels for using these tools. Second, the validity of these protein markers will have to be confirmed through rigorous clinical tests by using an abundant number of samples. Finally, the functions of these markers will be investigated to understand the mechanisms by which proteins are associated with male fertility.