Roles of adrenomedullin and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha in patients with varicocele

Abstract

This study aimed to assess any changes in the plasma concentrations of adrenomedullin (ADM) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF 1a) in patients with varicocele (VC). Plasma concentrations of ADM and HIF 1a were measured in brachial vein (BV) and internal spermatic vein (ISV) of 30 fertile VC subjects and 35 untreated infertile VC patients. The results demonstrated that plasma levels of ADM and HIF 1a were significantly higher in ISV than those in BV in the fertile or infertile group respectively. The values of ADM and HIF 1a in BV or ISV of the infertile group were significantly higher than in BV or ISV of the fertile group respectively. Similar changes in values of reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) were observed. Plasma HIF 1a concentration positively correlated with ROM levels. Plasma ADM concentration positively correlated with ROM values and HIF 1a levels in the two groups. Moreover, remarkable improvement in clinical sperm parameters was observed 3 months after surgery for the infertile patients. It is concluded that ADM may participate, along with HIF 1a, in mechanisms that aid spermatogenic cells in adapting to hypoxia. These predictors may have potential in infertility development in VC patients. Furthermore, early surgical repair is extremely important for infertile VC patients with poor semen quality.

Keywords: Adrenomedullin; hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha; male infertility; reactive oxygen metabolites; varicocele.