Objective: To determine plasminogen activators (PAs) and PA inhibitor levels in seminal plasma of patients attending an infertility clinic.
Design: Quantification by immunologic method of PAs in seminal plasma.
Setting: Patients of Department of Urology and Andrology, University Hospital, Nimes, France.
Patients: Ninety-two men attending for assessment because of infertility.
Interventions: Semen were collected by masturbation. Usual sperm parameters were determined; immediately after liquefaction, samples were snap-frozen at -85 degrees C until used for immunologic determination.
Main outcome measures: Tissue-type PA antigen, urokinase-type PA antigen, and type 1 PA inhibitor antigen levels in seminal plasma.
Results: Median values of PA were 270 ng/mL (tissue-type PA) and 5.4 ng/mL (urokinase-type PA) in normozoospermia; 290 ng/mL (tissue-type PA) and 5.7 ng/mL (urokinase-type PA) in oligozoospermia; 325 ng/mL (tissue-type PA) and 3.5 ng/mL (urokinase-type PA) in oligoasthenozoospermia. Type 1 PA inhibitor antigen levels were often under detection limit. Tissue-type PA was 173.5 ng/mL in semen with abnormal liquefaction and 290 ng/mL in semen with normal liquefaction.
Conclusion: The study confirmed the presence of both types of PAs in seminal plasma, tissue-type PA being largely predominant. No difference was found in tissue-type PA, urokinase-type PA, or type 1 PA inhibitor antigen levels between normal and oligozoospermic semen nor between normal and asthenozoospermic semen. On the other hand, semen with abnormal liquefaction had significantly lower tissue-type PA level than normal semen.