RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEMINAL HCG-β AND SPERMATOGENESIS

Studies on Human Seminal Plasma Report I

Abstract

Levels of human chorionic gonadotropin β-subunit (hCG-β) were determined in seminal plasma and serum of normal men, male infertile cases, klinefelter's syndrome, testicular tumor (seminoma), vasectomized cases as well as in normal prostatic fluids by radioimmunoassay.
The results were shown below.
1) The level of seminal hCG-β in normal men was 3.7±1.6ng/ml, several times as much as that in serum.
2) Concentration of serum hCG-β in healthy males was very low and we could not find any definite relations between serum and seminal plasma, but in 4 cases of testicular tumor (seminoma) it was at a high level in serum and at a low level in seminal plasma because of unilateral secretion. This fact suggests, besides tumor producing active hCG-β, invasive tumors destroyed the blood-testis barrier.
3) Levels of seminal hCG-β were found to be in significant correlations with sperm count, testicular volume and germinal cell index. This suggests that the secretory site of hCG-β was one process of spermatogenesis in human testis.
4) Levels of seminal hCG-β were found to be significantly correlated with seminal testotsterone and inversely correlated with LH, FSH in serum and seminal plasma. This finding also revealed that germinal cells had an intimate relation with the level of seminal hCG-β.
5) Levels of hCG-β in seminal plasma of azoospermia were 1.5ng/ml, similar to those with vasectomized seminal plasma and normal prostatic fluids that had no testicular hCG-β. Therefore, we suppose that about a half of hCG-β in seminal plasma was secreted by the prostate and the other half of seminal hCG-β was secreted by the testis.