Human Reproduction, Vol. 12, No. 11, pp. 2376-2378, 1997
© 1997 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Inhibin B in men with normal and disturbed spermatogenesis
1 Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Division of Endocrinology University of Bonn Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany 2 Department of Dermatology, Division of Andrology, University of Bonn Sigmund-Freud-Strasse 25, 53127 Bonn, Germany
Correspondence: 3To whom correspondence should be addressed
Inhibin, a dimeric gonadal glycoprotein, inhibits the production and/or secretion of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The major species currently recognized are inhibin A (
β A subunit) and inhibin B (β subunit). In men, inhibin B seems to be the physiologically important form of inhibin. Therefore we measured serum inhibin B using a new two-site immunoenzymatic assay in 14 men (mean ± SEM age, 34.5 ± 0.7 years) with sperm counts >20 x 106/ml, in 35 men (mean ± SEM age, 36.4 ± 1.3 years) with oligozoospermia (sperm count <20 x 106/ml) and in men with azoospermia (three orchidectomized men, three men with Klinefelter's syndrome, 10 men with Kallmann's syndrome). We compared inhibin B concentrations with serum FSH and sperm concentrations. In men with normal sperm concentrations (44.7 ± 6.4 x 106/ml), the concentration of inhibin was 223 ± 18 pg/ml and of FSH 5.0 ± 0.7 IU/1; in patients with low sperm concentrations (3.7 ± 0.8 x 106/ml), the concentration of inhibin B was 107 ± 12 pg/ml and of FSH 12.2 ± 1.5 IU/1. In all patients, except those with hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism, the relationship between inhibin B and FSH concentrations was inverse (r = –0.69, P < 0.0001). In all patients the sperm concentration was positively correlated with inhibin B concentrations (r = 0.70, P < 0.0001) and negatively correlated with FSH concentrations (r = –0.37, P < 0.01). We conclude that inhibin B may be a marker of exocrine testicular function and could offer improved diagnosis and treatment modalities for male infertility.
Key words: FSH/inhibin B/spermatogenesis/testicular volume
Submitted on April 2, 1997; accepted on August 18, 1997.
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