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Original Research

Open Access

The relationship between clinical parameters and hepatocyte growth factor/c-Met levels in the sperm of infertile males

  • Basak Ozge Kayan1
  • Veysel Sabri Hancer2
  • Uzay Gormus3
  • Cenk Ozcan4
  • Faruk Abike1,*,
  • Cem Murat Baykal5

1Istanbul Bilim University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gynecology And Obstetrics, 34394 Istanbul, Turkey

2Istinye University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Genetics, 34010 Istanbul, Turkey

3Istanbul Bilim University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, 34394 Istanbul, Turkey

4Florence Nightingale Hospitals, Assisted Reproductive Techniques Unit, 34381 Istanbul, Turkey

5Florence Nightingale Hospitals, Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 34724 Istanbul, Turkey

DOI: 10.31083/j.jomh1808177 Vol.18,Issue 8,August 2022 pp.1-8

Published: 31 August 2022

*Corresponding Author(s): Faruk Abike E-mail: farukabike@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective: Hepatocyte growth factor is a pleiotropic cytokine with potent mitogenic activity in many organs and tissues. The receptor for hepatocyte growth factor is c-Met, a transmembrane glycoprotein with tyrosine kinase activity. We investigated the relationships between hepatocyte growth factor and c-Met expression levels on sperm motility and male infertility. Methods: The study was designed as a prospective cohort, single center clinical trial and was conducted between March 2015 and June 2016. The control group consisted of 31 healthy male volunteers with children, while the study group consisted of 61 men who were diagnosed with male infertility after presenting to the In Vitro Fertilization Unit of our Institute. All participants in the study were aged 18–60 years. Sperm samples were taken from each participant and divided in two. The fresh sample was examined immediately for expression of c-Met, while the other was stored frozen and evaluated later for hepatocyte growth factor. Primary outcome measures were the levels of hepatocyte growth factor and c-Met expression, while secondary outcome measures were the correlation of these levels with sperm count, morphology and motility. Results: The c-Met expression level in the control group (26.53 ± 3.50, 19.43–32.73) was significantly lower than in the infertile group (27.95 ± 2.86, 21.58–33.07) (p = 0.039). HGF expression was also significantly lower in the control group (3.25 ± 1.76, 0.83–8.25) than in the infertile group (4.87 ± 4.11, 1.01–21.58) (p = 0.043). In the overall group, c-Met expression showed a positive correlation with sperm motility percentage and a negative correlation with sperm count and sperm morphology percentage. Conclusions: The c-Met receptor and its ligand, hepatocyte growth factor, appear to be fundamental regulators of spermatogenesis, sperm motility and fertilization capacity.


Keywords

Male infertility; Sperm motility; c-Met; Hepatocyte growth factor


Cite and Share

Basak Ozge Kayan,Veysel Sabri Hancer,Uzay Gormus,Cenk Ozcan,Faruk Abike,Cem Murat Baykal. The relationship between clinical parameters and hepatocyte growth factor/c-Met levels in the sperm of infertile males. Journal of Men's Health. 2022. 18(8);1-8.

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