The Correlation Between Semen Parameters and Galectin-3 Levels of Infertile Men

Abstract

Objective: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is a ~30kDa protein which plays role in cell to cell interaction, cancer progression, pathogenesis of infections, and immunmodulation. In male reproductive tract, Gal-3 is present in testes, epididymis, vas deferens, prostate, seminal vesicles and in semen. Ma- terial and Methods: This is a prospective cohort study performed in a university hospital setting. Inclusion criteria were males suffering from infertility who admitted for semen analysis. Gal-3 analysis in semen was performed by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay. The semen parameters were evaluated according to World Health Organization criteria (WHO) (2010). Normozoospermia were defined as sperm count ?15x10 6/ml and oligozoospermia were defined as sperm count <15x10 6 /ml. Results: The mean age of the patients are 34.67±5.43 (min 24-maks 52) years. Among the participants, 16,4% had oligozoospermia and 83,5% had normozoospermia. The mean Gal-3 levels of patients were 216 ng/mL (min 8,6-max 794 ng/mL), where as the levels were 162 ng/mL in oligozoospermia and 90 ng/mL in normozoospermia group (p>0.05). The Gal-3 levels were found to be negatively correlated with total progressive sperm count in oligozoospermia group (r=-0.479; p=0.024). Con- clusion: The findings from this study supports the data that Gal-3 levels are increased in cases with faulty spermatogenesis. Moreover, the pos- sible role of Gal-3 in sperm motility is also supported by the negative correlation between Gal-3 levels and total progressive motile sperm fraction. Further studies about this protein to clarify its potential role in spermatogenesis and sperm functions is still needed.