Estimation of Serum and Seminal Plasma Levels of Glactin-1 in Non-Obstructive Azoospermia Cases and Their Correlations with the Rate of Sperm Retrieval: A Comparative Prospective Study

Sameh  Fayek GamalEl Din; Khadiga  Abougabal; Hany  Mohammed Saad; Mohamed  Shokr Mohamed; Amira  Mahmoud Mohamed Ali; Ahmed  Abo Sief

doi:10.18502/jri.v23i4.10810

Sameh Fayek GamalEl Din Department of Andrology and STDs, Faculty of Medicine Kasralainy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Khadiga Abougabal Department of Clinical and Chemical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt
Hany Mohammed Saad Department of Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt
Mohamed Shokr Mohamed Department of Andrology and STDs, Faculty of Medicine Kasralainy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Amira Mahmoud Mohamed Ali Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, Cairo, Egypt
Ahmed Abo Sief Department of Andrology and STDs, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jri.v23i4.10810

Keywords: Non-obstructive azoospermia, Seminal plasma levels of Gal-1, Serum levels of Gal-1.

Abstract

Background: Remarkably, the current study is one of the first to deploy galectin-1 (Gal-1) in determining the degree of impairment of spermatogenesis among cases with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) as well as utilizing it as a biomarker to predict the rate of sperm retrieval in these patients. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the seminal plasma and serum levels of Gal-1 in NOA patients as well as their correlations with Johnsen’s tubular biopsy scoring (JTBS).

Methods: The current case control study included totally 48 patients with NOA whose ages ranged from 24 to 46 years old and 50 age matched healthy controls. Gal-1 levels were measured in both seminal plasma and serum of all subjects by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Results: A significant negative correlation between seminal plasma levels of Gal-1 and JTBS was detected (r= -0.281, p=0.048) in the NOA cases. Interestingly, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve had demonstrated that the cutoff value of seminal plasma levels of Gal-1 in determining azoospermia was >0.735 ng/ml and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.858. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values for seminal plasma levels of Gal-1 were 76, 92, 90.5, and 79.3, respectively. In addition, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive, and negative predictive values for serum levels of Gal-1 were 38, 66, 52.8, and 51.6, respectively.

Conclusion: Seminal plasma levels of Gal-1 are higher in NOA men versus healthy controls. Interestingly, negative correlation of seminal plasma levels of Gal-1 with JTBS was determined. Thus, it can be used as a good predictor for NOA cases.