This Special Issue provides reflections after 20 years, summarized in 12 papers, on the controversial issue of alleged decline in human sperm output due to global oestrogen pollution by industrial chemicals.
My interest in science in China, .stimulated in 1980 by reading theabridged version of Joseph Needham＇s ＂Science and Civilization in China＂, continued when I was a Consultant to the National Family Planning Researc...My interest in science in China, .stimulated in 1980 by reading theabridged version of Joseph Needham＇s ＂Science and Civilization in China＂, continued when I was a Consultant to the National Family Planning Research Institute in Beijing in 1983, and to the Shandong Stem Cell Engineering Research Center, Yantai in 2009-2012. During that time, I have acted as reviewer of the Asian Journal of Andrology （AJA）, and I continue to be one of its editorial board members. What I can contribute as the second Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the journal will depend on the challenges faced by the journal in the coming years.展开更多
In the manuscript ＇The preparation and application of N-Terminal 57 amino acid protein of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor as a candidate male contraceptive vaccine＇ published in Asian Journal ofAndrology, ...In the manuscript ＇The preparation and application of N-Terminal 57 amino acid protein of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor as a candidate male contraceptive vaccine＇ published in Asian Journal ofAndrology, Xu et al.1 concluded that a preparation of the human follicle-stimulating hormone receptor protein had potential to become an antigen for a human contraceptive that lacked hormonal side effects.展开更多
If scandal is the engine of progress in politics, and sensation is that of the media, while anti-modern panic is that of environmentalism, what is the dynamic of medical science？ Certainly discovery and invention rep...If scandal is the engine of progress in politics, and sensation is that of the media, while anti-modern panic is that of environmentalism, what is the dynamic of medical science？ Certainly discovery and invention represent the admirable high road, whereas competition and controversy represent the quotidian low road. This Special Issue is directed to reviewing the lessons learned from the most public, fervent and durable controversy in the short history of Andrology, the claims of world-wide falling sperm counts, due to global pollution by industrial estrogenic chemicals, published two decades ago.展开更多
The assumed association of sperm motility with fertility has long beena preoccupation of clinicians. Whereas assessing fertility of a couple has relatively easy end-points （time to pregnancy, number of children）, as...The assumed association of sperm motility with fertility has long beena preoccupation of clinicians. Whereas assessing fertility of a couple has relatively easy end-points （time to pregnancy, number of children）, assessing motility does not. ＂[he many methods developed to determine it include assessing a sperm population subjectively （by grading） and objectively （by measuring its motion-induced movement into a light beam by spectrophotometry or nephelometry）, and making measurements on individual sperm cells （by stroboscopic or multiple-exposure photography or digitized video-recordings）.展开更多
Epididymal tumour incidence is at most 0.03% of all male cancers. It is an enigma why the human epididymis does not often succumb to cancer, when it expresses markers of stem and cancer cells, and constitutively expre...Epididymal tumour incidence is at most 0.03% of all male cancers. It is an enigma why the human epididymis does not often succumb to cancer, when it expresses markers of stem and cancer cells, and constitutively expresses oncogenes, pro-proliferative and pro-angiogenic factors that allow tumour cells to escape immunosurveillance in cancer-prone tissues. The privileged position of the human epididymis in evading tumourigenicity is reflected in transgenic mouse models in which induction of tumours in other organs is not accompanied by epididymal neoplasia. The epididymis appears to： （i） prevent tumour initiation （it probably lacks stem cells and has strong anti-oxidative mechanisms, active tumour suppressors and inactive oncogene products）; （ii） foster tumour monitoring and destruction （by strong immuno-surveillance and -eradication, and cellular senescence）; （iii） avert proliferation and angiogenesis （with persistent tight junctions, the presence of anti-angiogenic factors and misplaced pro-angiogenic factors）, which together （iv） promote dormancy and restrict dividing cells to hyperplasia. Epididymal cells may be rendered non-responsive to oncogenic stimuli by the constitutive expression of factors generally inducible in tumours, and resistant to the normal epididymal environment, which mimics that of a tumour niche promoting tumour growth. The threshold for tumour initiation may thus be higher in the epididymis than in other organs. Several anti-tumour mechanisms are those that maintain spermatozoa quiescent and immunologically silent, so the low incidence of cancer in the epididymis may be a consequence of its role in sperm maturation and storage. Understanding these mechanisms may throw light on cancer prevention and therapy in general.展开更多
The potential of spermatozoa to become motile during post-testicular maturation, and the relationship between the cytoplasmic droplet and fertilizing capacity are reviewed. Post-testicular maturation of spermatozoa in...The potential of spermatozoa to become motile during post-testicular maturation, and the relationship between the cytoplasmic droplet and fertilizing capacity are reviewed. Post-testicular maturation of spermatozoa involves the autonomous induction of motility, which can occur in vivo in testes with occluded excurrent ducts and in vitro in testicular explants, and artefactual changes in morphology that appear to occur in the testis in vitro. Both modifications may reflect time-dependent oxidation of disulphide bonds of head and tail proteins. Regulatory volume decrease （RVD）, which counters sperm swelling at ejaculation, is discussed in relation to loss of cytoplasmic droplets and consequences for fertility. It is postulated that： （i） fertile males possess spermatozoa with sufficient osmolytes to drive RVD at ejaculation, permitting the droplet to round up and pinch off without membrane rupture; and （ii） infertile males possess spermatozoa with insufficient osmolytes so that RVD is inadequate, the droplet swells and the resulting flagellar angulation prevents droplet loss. Droplet retention at ejaculation is a harbinger of infertility caused by failure of the spermatozoon to negotiate the uterotubal junction or mucous and reach the egg. In this hypothesis, the epididymis regulates fertility indirectly by the extent of osmolyte provision to spermatozoa, which influences RVD and therefore droplet loss. Man is an exception, because ejaculated human spermatozoa retain their droplets. This may reflect their short midpiece, approximating head length, permitting a swollen droplet to extend along the entire midpiece; this not only obviates droplet migration and flagellar angulation but also hampers droplet loss.展开更多
β-catenin is an integral part of the Wnt signaling pathway and has been linked to tumorigenesis and multiple developmental processes. The high β-catenin expression with low tumor incidence in the human epididymis is...β-catenin is an integral part of the Wnt signaling pathway and has been linked to tumorigenesis and multiple developmental processes. The high β-catenin expression with low tumor incidence in the human epididymis is thus intriguing. In the present study, the β-catenin gene and protein was found to be highly expressed in the murine caput epididymidis, and the protein mainly localized along the lateral plasma membranes of adjacent epithelial cells throughout both human and mouse epididymides. Furthermore, the adult mouse epididymis was found to express almost all the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway genes that were determined previously by our group in the human organ. Despite the differences in epididymal structure, the similar location of β-catenin and the high concordance of this pathway＇s components＇ gene expression in both the adult human and mouse epididymides make the mouse a suitable animal model for studying the anti-tumor mechanism of the epididymis. In addition, both the mRNA and protein expression of β-catenin shared a similar spatial expression as the mRNA of Rosl, a proto-oncogene and a key developmental regulator of the initial segment of the mouse epididymis. The observations on the parallel temporal expression of β-catenin and Rosl during postnatal development raise the possibility that the canonical Writ signaling pathway has an additional role in the postnatal development of mouse epididymis.展开更多
The problems associated with the subjective assessment of human sperm morphology have been well aired in another Asian Journal of Andrology Special Issue1 that marked the publication of the 5th edition of the WHO Seme...The problems associated with the subjective assessment of human sperm morphology have been well aired in another Asian Journal of Andrology Special Issue1 that marked the publication of the 5th edition of the WHO Semen analysis manual, and contrary views have subsequently been presented） However, the vagaries of the eye-brain system in assessing whether a sperm head is large or small can be eliminated by objective assessment where definitive structures are defined by their dimensions. These can then be classified automatically into as many categories as the data permit, conventionally on the basis of preset upper and lower limits, but also by more comprehensive analysis as discussed here.展开更多
FOREWORD FROM TREVOR G COOPER Roger V Short,Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS),born in England in 1930,itally trained as a vet at Bristol University,then completed a Fulbright Scholarship in the states and a PhD at the ...FOREWORD FROM TREVOR G COOPER Roger V Short,Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS),born in England in 1930,itally trained as a vet at Bristol University,then completed a Fulbright Scholarship in the states and a PhD at the University of Cambridge.After research in the University's Department of Veterinary Clinical studies until 1972,he became the director of the Medical Research Council Unit of Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh for the next decade,teaming up with Professor David Baird to run a globally renowned research institute where he trained numerous famous scientists.From 2007 to 2014,he was an Editorial Board Member of Asian Journal of Andrology.展开更多
The Sixth International Conference on the Epididymis （Epididymis VI：Networks in the Epididymis, Basic and Clinical Research） was held between October 31 and November 3 2014 in Shanghai, China.
Earlyin his investigations, Leeuwenhoek （1670s）1 deduced that spermatozoawere alive and an integral part of semen, rather than artifacts or parasites. He eventually observed spermatozoa in the semen of men, dogs, ho...Earlyin his investigations, Leeuwenhoek （1670s）1 deduced that spermatozoawere alive and an integral part of semen, rather than artifacts or parasites. He eventually observed spermatozoa in the semen of men, dogs, horses, birds, fishes, amphibians, molluscs, and many insects, and concluded that they must be a universal feature of male reproduction.展开更多
In the 22 years since its inception this meetingI has become the focus of a still small but growing and devoted group of scientists, meeting purposefully at a leisurely interval of four years, so that only substantial...In the 22 years since its inception this meetingI has become the focus of a still small but growing and devoted group of scientists, meeting purposefully at a leisurely interval of four years, so that only substantial advances are reported. As these meetings approach a quarter of a century of epididymal research, it is time to reflect on the focus of former, and direction of future, epididymal research.展开更多
Semen analysis results from over 750 fathers in the USA demonstrated marked differences in the quality of semen from men at different locations and of different ethnic groups. Another paper failed to demonstrate any ...Semen analysis results from over 750 fathers in the USA demonstrated marked differences in the quality of semen from men at different locations and of different ethnic groups. Another paper failed to demonstrate any effects of moderate alcohol consumption during the week before provision of an ejaculate on semen quality and few on serum hormones, of over 8300 men in Europe and the USA. While these observations are interesting, the reasons for regional and ethnic differences in semen quality of fathers are unclear. Although, there was no attempt to confirm the participant-provided level of alcohol consumption, an increase in serum testosterone in the men at the higher end of alcohol intake is compatible with an alcohol effect on liver metabolism, although whether alcohol intake was the cause of higher testosterone, or men with higher androgen levels consume more alcohol, is not known.展开更多
John Michael Bedford （Figure 1） studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University （1952-1958）, and gained his BA （1955） and MA （1958） in Natural Sciences, with postgraduate training in Veterinary Medicine...John Michael Bedford （Figure 1） studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University （1952-1958）, and gained his BA （1955） and MA （1958） in Natural Sciences, with postgraduate training in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery （Vet MB 1958）. He had academic appointments as a Fellow at Bristol University （1958-1959）, a scientist with MC Chang at the Worcester Foundation in Shrewsbury, MA, USA （1959-1961）,and studied for a PhD in Physiology with Professor Amoroso at the University of London （1961-1965）. During this time, he was also a lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College （1961-1966） and a teacher at the University of London （1965）.展开更多
Biomedical research and scientific publishing of its results will always remain founded on trust in the honesty and integrity of investigators and reviewers. Overwhelmingly, the motivation of researchers is to advance...Biomedical research and scientific publishing of its results will always remain founded on trust in the honesty and integrity of investigators and reviewers. Overwhelmingly, the motivation of researchers is to advance knowledge in their field through reporting of genuine and reproducible findings.展开更多
文摘This Special Issue provides reflections after 20 years, summarized in 12 papers, on the controversial issue of alleged decline in human sperm output due to global oestrogen pollution by industrial chemicals.
文摘My interest in science in China, .stimulated in 1980 by reading theabridged version of Joseph Needham＇s ＂Science and Civilization in China＂, continued when I was a Consultant to the National Family Planning Research Institute in Beijing in 1983, and to the Shandong Stem Cell Engineering Research Center, Yantai in 2009-2012. During that time, I have acted as reviewer of the Asian Journal of Andrology （AJA）, and I continue to be one of its editorial board members. What I can contribute as the second Deputy Editor-in-Chief for the journal will depend on the challenges faced by the journal in the coming years.
文摘In the manuscript ＇The preparation and application of N-Terminal 57 amino acid protein of the follicle-stimulating hormone receptor as a candidate male contraceptive vaccine＇ published in Asian Journal ofAndrology, Xu et al.1 concluded that a preparation of the human follicle-stimulating hormone receptor protein had potential to become an antigen for a human contraceptive that lacked hormonal side effects.
文摘If scandal is the engine of progress in politics, and sensation is that of the media, while anti-modern panic is that of environmentalism, what is the dynamic of medical science？ Certainly discovery and invention represent the admirable high road, whereas competition and controversy represent the quotidian low road. This Special Issue is directed to reviewing the lessons learned from the most public, fervent and durable controversy in the short history of Andrology, the claims of world-wide falling sperm counts, due to global pollution by industrial estrogenic chemicals, published two decades ago.
文摘The assumed association of sperm motility with fertility has long beena preoccupation of clinicians. Whereas assessing fertility of a couple has relatively easy end-points （time to pregnancy, number of children）, assessing motility does not. ＂[he many methods developed to determine it include assessing a sperm population subjectively （by grading） and objectively （by measuring its motion-induced movement into a light beam by spectrophotometry or nephelometry）, and making measurements on individual sperm cells （by stroboscopic or multiple-exposure photography or digitized video-recordings）.
文摘Epididymal tumour incidence is at most 0.03% of all male cancers. It is an enigma why the human epididymis does not often succumb to cancer, when it expresses markers of stem and cancer cells, and constitutively expresses oncogenes, pro-proliferative and pro-angiogenic factors that allow tumour cells to escape immunosurveillance in cancer-prone tissues. The privileged position of the human epididymis in evading tumourigenicity is reflected in transgenic mouse models in which induction of tumours in other organs is not accompanied by epididymal neoplasia. The epididymis appears to： （i） prevent tumour initiation （it probably lacks stem cells and has strong anti-oxidative mechanisms, active tumour suppressors and inactive oncogene products）; （ii） foster tumour monitoring and destruction （by strong immuno-surveillance and -eradication, and cellular senescence）; （iii） avert proliferation and angiogenesis （with persistent tight junctions, the presence of anti-angiogenic factors and misplaced pro-angiogenic factors）, which together （iv） promote dormancy and restrict dividing cells to hyperplasia. Epididymal cells may be rendered non-responsive to oncogenic stimuli by the constitutive expression of factors generally inducible in tumours, and resistant to the normal epididymal environment, which mimics that of a tumour niche promoting tumour growth. The threshold for tumour initiation may thus be higher in the epididymis than in other organs. Several anti-tumour mechanisms are those that maintain spermatozoa quiescent and immunologically silent, so the low incidence of cancer in the epididymis may be a consequence of its role in sperm maturation and storage. Understanding these mechanisms may throw light on cancer prevention and therapy in general.
文摘The potential of spermatozoa to become motile during post-testicular maturation, and the relationship between the cytoplasmic droplet and fertilizing capacity are reviewed. Post-testicular maturation of spermatozoa involves the autonomous induction of motility, which can occur in vivo in testes with occluded excurrent ducts and in vitro in testicular explants, and artefactual changes in morphology that appear to occur in the testis in vitro. Both modifications may reflect time-dependent oxidation of disulphide bonds of head and tail proteins. Regulatory volume decrease （RVD）, which counters sperm swelling at ejaculation, is discussed in relation to loss of cytoplasmic droplets and consequences for fertility. It is postulated that： （i） fertile males possess spermatozoa with sufficient osmolytes to drive RVD at ejaculation, permitting the droplet to round up and pinch off without membrane rupture; and （ii） infertile males possess spermatozoa with insufficient osmolytes so that RVD is inadequate, the droplet swells and the resulting flagellar angulation prevents droplet loss. Droplet retention at ejaculation is a harbinger of infertility caused by failure of the spermatozoon to negotiate the uterotubal junction or mucous and reach the egg. In this hypothesis, the epididymis regulates fertility indirectly by the extent of osmolyte provision to spermatozoa, which influences RVD and therefore droplet loss. Man is an exception, because ejaculated human spermatozoa retain their droplets. This may reflect their short midpiece, approximating head length, permitting a swollen droplet to extend along the entire midpiece; this not only obviates droplet migration and flagellar angulation but also hampers droplet loss.
文摘β-catenin is an integral part of the Wnt signaling pathway and has been linked to tumorigenesis and multiple developmental processes. The high β-catenin expression with low tumor incidence in the human epididymis is thus intriguing. In the present study, the β-catenin gene and protein was found to be highly expressed in the murine caput epididymidis, and the protein mainly localized along the lateral plasma membranes of adjacent epithelial cells throughout both human and mouse epididymides. Furthermore, the adult mouse epididymis was found to express almost all the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway genes that were determined previously by our group in the human organ. Despite the differences in epididymal structure, the similar location of β-catenin and the high concordance of this pathway＇s components＇ gene expression in both the adult human and mouse epididymides make the mouse a suitable animal model for studying the anti-tumor mechanism of the epididymis. In addition, both the mRNA and protein expression of β-catenin shared a similar spatial expression as the mRNA of Rosl, a proto-oncogene and a key developmental regulator of the initial segment of the mouse epididymis. The observations on the parallel temporal expression of β-catenin and Rosl during postnatal development raise the possibility that the canonical Writ signaling pathway has an additional role in the postnatal development of mouse epididymis.
文摘The problems associated with the subjective assessment of human sperm morphology have been well aired in another Asian Journal of Andrology Special Issue1 that marked the publication of the 5th edition of the WHO Semen analysis manual, and contrary views have subsequently been presented） However, the vagaries of the eye-brain system in assessing whether a sperm head is large or small can be eliminated by objective assessment where definitive structures are defined by their dimensions. These can then be classified automatically into as many categories as the data permit, conventionally on the basis of preset upper and lower limits, but also by more comprehensive analysis as discussed here.
文摘FOREWORD FROM TREVOR G COOPER Roger V Short,Fellow of the Royal Society(FRS),born in England in 1930,itally trained as a vet at Bristol University,then completed a Fulbright Scholarship in the states and a PhD at the University of Cambridge.After research in the University's Department of Veterinary Clinical studies until 1972,he became the director of the Medical Research Council Unit of Reproductive Biology in Edinburgh for the next decade,teaming up with Professor David Baird to run a globally renowned research institute where he trained numerous famous scientists.From 2007 to 2014,he was an Editorial Board Member of Asian Journal of Andrology.
文摘The Sixth International Conference on the Epididymis （Epididymis VI：Networks in the Epididymis, Basic and Clinical Research） was held between October 31 and November 3 2014 in Shanghai, China.
文摘Earlyin his investigations, Leeuwenhoek （1670s）1 deduced that spermatozoawere alive and an integral part of semen, rather than artifacts or parasites. He eventually observed spermatozoa in the semen of men, dogs, horses, birds, fishes, amphibians, molluscs, and many insects, and concluded that they must be a universal feature of male reproduction.
文摘In the 22 years since its inception this meetingI has become the focus of a still small but growing and devoted group of scientists, meeting purposefully at a leisurely interval of four years, so that only substantial advances are reported. As these meetings approach a quarter of a century of epididymal research, it is time to reflect on the focus of former, and direction of future, epididymal research.
文摘Semen analysis results from over 750 fathers in the USA demonstrated marked differences in the quality of semen from men at different locations and of different ethnic groups. Another paper failed to demonstrate any effects of moderate alcohol consumption during the week before provision of an ejaculate on semen quality and few on serum hormones, of over 8300 men in Europe and the USA. While these observations are interesting, the reasons for regional and ethnic differences in semen quality of fathers are unclear. Although, there was no attempt to confirm the participant-provided level of alcohol consumption, an increase in serum testosterone in the men at the higher end of alcohol intake is compatible with an alcohol effect on liver metabolism, although whether alcohol intake was the cause of higher testosterone, or men with higher androgen levels consume more alcohol, is not known.
文摘John Michael Bedford （Figure 1） studied at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University （1952-1958）, and gained his BA （1955） and MA （1958） in Natural Sciences, with postgraduate training in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery （Vet MB 1958）. He had academic appointments as a Fellow at Bristol University （1958-1959）, a scientist with MC Chang at the Worcester Foundation in Shrewsbury, MA, USA （1959-1961）,and studied for a PhD in Physiology with Professor Amoroso at the University of London （1961-1965）. During this time, he was also a lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College （1961-1966） and a teacher at the University of London （1965）.
文摘Biomedical research and scientific publishing of its results will always remain founded on trust in the honesty and integrity of investigators and reviewers. Overwhelmingly, the motivation of researchers is to advance knowledge in their field through reporting of genuine and reproducible findings.
