background: given the paucity of data on possible testis changes in opioid dependents, we sought to compare the testis volumes between a group of opium dependents and a group of healthy controls. objective: comparison of testis volume between opium dependents and healthy controls. materials and methods: this case-control study recruited 100 men with opium dependency (cases) and 100 healthy men ...

The male reproductive tracts in different species are characterized by similar patterns of male-dependent overexpression of carboxylesterases. This phenomenon indicates male sex-associated functions of these enzymes for spermatogenesis, sperm maturation, and sperm use. Recently, a novel epididymis-specific gene named Ces7 was cloned and characterized, which belongs to the carboxylesterase famil...

Follistatin is a binding protein for the activin and inhibin family of hormones, regulating their biological activity. In the male reproductive tract, the interaction of these factors is likely to be involved in the regulation of the proliferation of several cell types. We have investigated the presence of follistatin and activin A in seminal plasma using specific immunoassays and have localize...

Testosterone and estrogen are no longer considered male only and female only hormones. Both hormones are important in both sexes. It was known as early as the 1930's that developmental exposure to a high dose of estrogen causes malformation of the male reproductive tract, but the early formative years of reproductive biology as a discipline did not recognize the importance of estrogen in regula...

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. I...

Dicer1 is an RNase III enzyme necessary for microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, as it cleaves pre-miRNAs into mature miRNAs. miRNAs are important regulators of gene expression. In recent years, several miRNA-independent roles of Dicer1 have been identified. They include the production of endogenous small interfering RNAs, detoxifying retrotransposon-derived transcripts, and binding to new targets; mes...

Among most animals with internal fertilization, females store sperm in specific regions of their reproductive tract for later use. Sperm storage enables prolonged fertility, physical and temporal separation of mating from fertilization and, when females mate with multiple males, opportunities for differential use of the various males' sperm. Thus, stored sperm move within the female reproductiv...

Proteomics is critical to identify the properties and functions of proteins involved in the mechanism regulating the male reproductive tract function. This approach is important in male fertility assessment and clinical diagnosis of the physiological state of individual reproductive organs. Proteomics also provides a tool to understand the interactions of seminal plasma proteins with spermatozo...

Male infertility is a worldwide problem, as in about one in five infertile couples; the sole reason is the male partner. Amongst the various etiological factors responsible for male infertility, acute and chronic genital tract infections constitute a significant part. Different microorganisms have been linked with male infertility; with varying levels of association. These microorganisms have b...