Adnexal gland secretion markers in unexplained asthenozoospermia

Prostatic acid phosphatase, prostate-specific antigen, and zinc as markers of prostate, and fructose as marker of seminal vesicles were investigated in the seminal plasma of 35 idiopathic asthenozoospermic and 20 normal subjects to evaluate their relationship with sperm motility. Total seminal plasma levels of the three prostatic markers and, to a lesser extent, total fructose levels were lower in asthenozoospermic patients, and in all the pooled subjects, the same levels were directly correlated with the motility of ejaculated spermatozoa. When the levels of the biochemical markers were expressed as concentrations in seminal plasma, only prostatic acid phosphatase levels remained lower in asthenozoospermic patients and they maintained a direct correlation with sperm motility in all the pooled subjects. The PAP/Zn/Fr (representing the ratio between PAP concentration and free Zn available for spermatozoan uptake) was lower in asthenozoospermic patients and it was also directly related to sperm motility in all the pooled subjects. These data suggest that altered sperm motility is associated with a probable impairment of sex accessory gland function in subjects with idiopathic asthenozoospermia, while prostatic acid phosphatase seems mainly related to sperm motility.