Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolaseh levels elevated in semen of men with spinal cord injury
Platelet-activating factor [1-O-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine; PAF] is present in human sperm and its content has a significant and positive relationship with motility. PAF-acetylhydrolase (PAFah), the enzyme that removes the acetyl group (responsible for PAF’s activity), is present in semen and serves as a decapacitating factor. Semen from men with spinal cord injury (SCI) contains sperm with poor motility and this condition may be a result of abnormal PAFah activity in the semen. The study objective was to determine the relationship between PAFah content in semen and sperm motility in men with SCI compared to non-SCI men.
Using a between-subjects design, semen PAF-AH activity was compared in semen specimens from control versus SCI subjects. PAFah activity levels were correlated with sperm motility in each group.
Semen was obtained from 10 men with SCI and 10 age-matched healthy fertile men as control subjects. Sperm motility was determined (WHO, 1999) prior to measurement of PAFah activity (spectrophotometric analysis; AZWELL Inc, Japan). Data were analyzed by Student’s t-test and linear regression.
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