Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.20 (alpha-glucosidase)
 4,237 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Biochemical analysis was made of specific accessory gland products in the ejaculates of 362 men suffering from various acute inflammatory diseases of the reproductive tract and 33 normozoospermic patients acting as controls. The ejaculate content of the epididymal markers alpha-glucosidase and L-carnitine, but not glycerophosphocholine, was significantly reduced in ejaculates from men with epididymitis; citric acid was reduced in men suffering from prostatitis; both citric acid and alpha-glucosidase were reduced in men suffering from adnexitis. The ejaculate content of epididymal and prostatic markers in prostato-urethritis (adnexitis), where the exact localization of the inflammation was unclear, was not as low as in epididymitis or prostatitis. Seminal vesicle function, as judged from semen volumes and seminal fructose, was not different in these groups of patients. The results, although strongly related to the clinical diagnosis, were unrelated to the microbiological flora of the semen and indicate that both the epididymis and the prostate glands are involved in some forms of adnexitis.
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PMID:The influence of inflammation of the human male genital tract on secretion of the seminal markers alpha-glucosidase, glycerophosphocholine, carnitine, fructose and citric acid. 228 78

Certain ejaculate infections can be traced back to sexually transmitted microorganisms, such as Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Chlamydia trachomatis, Ureaplasma urealyticum and Trichomonas vaginalis. To varying extents, these microorganisms cause such classical genital infections as urethritis, epididymitis and prostatitis as well as subclinical genital tract infections. Several different pathomechanisms are under discussion for infection of the ejaculate: reduction of spermatogenesis resulting from testicular damage, autoimmune processes induced by inflammation, direct influence on the spermatozoal function, disturbances in spermatozoal transport, secretory dysfunction of the male accessory sex glands and leukocytospermia with secondary influence on ejaculate parameters. The relevance of these microorganisms for the localization of the inflammatory process within the genital tract are discussed in detail. Their importance for male fertility is a matter of debate. In particular, the significance of C. trachomatis and U. urealyticum, both of which are detectable in the urethra, is still uncertain and cannot be assessed conclusively. Further information allowing delimitation of an infection resulting from bacterial colonization may be provided, on the one hand, by biochemical markers for an inflammatory reaction and indicators of an immune response in the ejaculate, e.g. PMN elastase, complement C3, or coeruloplasmin, and on the other hand, by secretion markers such as alpha-glucosidase, PSA and phosphatase. Whether the assessment of these markers and indicators can help to clarify the inflammatory origin of infertility in individual cases remains doubtful.
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PMID:[Infections of the ejaculate by sexually transmissible pathogens]. 751 3

Though detailed cytological and microbiological diagnostic procedures are routinely carried out in male genital tract infection, the correct diagnosis and localization of inflammation or infection is often difficult. In this prospective study, the relevance of the seminal plasma markers PMN elastase, complement C3, CRP, fructose, PSP 94, PSA, and alpha-glucosidase was investigated in 13 patients with chronic prostatitis, 31 patients with significant leukocytospermia, and 58 patients with non-inflammatory diseases (controls). Statistically relevant results were obtained for PMN elastase when comparing chronic prostatitis with controls, leukocytospermia with controls (P < 0.001) and chronic prostatitis with leukocytospermia (P < 0.05); for complement C3 chronic prostatitis and leukocytospermia vs. controls (P < 0.05) and for fructose/ejaculate leukocytospermia vs. controls (P < 0.05). No statistically relevant differences were found for C-reactive protein, alpha-glucosidase, PSA and prostatic secretory protein (PSP 94). To delimit genital tract inflammation from non-inflammatory patients, cutpoint levels for PMN elastase of 230 ng ml-1 and for C3c of 0.01 g l-1 were suggested. PMN elastase was shown to possess the strongest discriminating power. The assessment of a cutpoint for fructose to indicate seminal vesicle dysfunction is not possible as the significance level is weak (P < 0.05).
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PMID:Evaluation of seminal plasma parameters in patients with chronic prostatitis or leukocytospermia. 962 42

A history of urogenital inflammation occurs in 5-12% of men attending infertility clinics. Usually, infection has a detrimental effect on sperm quality by reducing concentration and motility, and possibly affecting the number of morphological normal spermatozoa. In addition, infection may be the source of auto-antibodies against spermatozoa, found in about 8% of the infertile male population. In contrast to the situation in women, there is no clear evidence that male accessory gland infections can result in epididymal blockage or vassal obstruction, with the exception of genital tuberculosis. Although Chlamydia trachomatis is a well-documented source of chronic prostatitis, the infection does not seem to cause obstruction of the reproductive tract, as it does in women. If male urogenital infection causes obstruction it is most likely located at the level of the ejaculatory ducts. Chronic prostatitis has been proved to cause scarring of the prostatic and ejaculatory ducts, resulting in low seminal volume with low fructose and alpha-glucosidase. Many of these men present with severe oligozoospermia or azoospermia, normal size testis and normal gonadotrophins. We performed an excisional testicular biopsy in all men presenting with <1 million spermatozoa per millilitre and found that 39 of 78 (50%) had a normal spermatogenesis. A history of male accessory genital infection was found in 12% of the men and 10% had abnormalities found on transrectal ultrasound of the prostate (like oedema, dilatation of the seminal vesicles and ejaculatory ducts) intraprostatic calcifications and dilatation of the periprostatic venous plexus. Ejaculatory duct obstruction is a common cause of male infertility and infections are present in at least 22-50% of these men. Transurethral resection of the ejaculatory ducts may result in a significant improvement of the sperm quality and in spontaneous pregnancies in up to 25% of the couples. In case of failure sperm aspiration from the epididymis and intracytoplasmic sperm injection is the treatment of choice.
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PMID:Inflammatory-associated obstructions of the male reproductive tract. 1453 64