ON THE ISSUE OF NECESSITY TO PERFORM THE DR-70 IMMUNOASSAY PRIOR TO PROSTATE BIOPSY IN PATIENTS WITH HIGH PROSTATE SPECIFIC ANTIGEN LEVEL AND ITS EFFICACY IN PREDICTING THE BIOPSY RESULTS.

The aim is to discuss the contribution of the DR-70 for the patients with high PSA level and which cutofflevel of DR-70 must be consideredthe biopsy decision. 93 patients with high prostate specific antigen level were enrolled into the study. Before the prostate biopsy, total PSA (tPSA), free PSA (fPSA), free/total PSA rate (f/tPSA), PSA density (PSAD) and DR-70 levels were recorded. The patients were divided into two groups according to the pathological outcome of benign (G1) or malignant (G2). G1 and G2 were compared with Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman's rho and ROC curve for analysis. The significance level is taken as .05 for all tests. The median age of patients in G1 and G2 was 62.52 and 68.22 years, respectively. The mean PV in G1 and G2 were 52.16 and 39.6 mL, respectively. The mean tPSA, PSAD and DR-70 levels in G1 and G2 were found as 7.19 and 18.74 ng/mL, 0.14 and 0.48 ng/mL/cc and 0.44 and 0.5 µg/mL, respectively. The mean age of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly higher than G1 (p=.001).The mean PV of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly lower than G1 (p=.001).The mean PSAD of the patients in G2 was statistically significantly higher than G1 (p=.001). There was no statistically significant difference on DR-70 levelsbetween G1 and G2 (p=.38). In Spearman's rhocorrelationanalysis, there was nostatistically significant relationships between DR-70 levels and pathology results in G2 (p=.24). ROC curve of tPSA, fPSA, f/tPSA, PSAD and DR-70 levelswere evaluated. ROC curve of PSAD shows a fair discriminant power with AUC = 0.71 (95% CI: 0.607-0.828) for differentiation between PCa and benign tissue in prostate biopsy with moderate specificity and high sensitivity (62.5% and 75.7%, resp., cut-off level: 0.1377 ng/mL). Contrary to literature and guidelines, cutoff level of PSAD as 0.13ng/mL/cc should be kept in mind and accordingly, a biopsy decision should be made. We think that DR-70 is no needed for additional evaluation before prostate biopsy.

Detection of Y chromosome microdeletions and mitochondrial DNA mutations in male infertility patients.

Infertility affects about 10-15% of all couples attempting pregnancy with infertility attributed to the male partner in approximately half of the cases. Proposed causes of male infertility include sperm motility disturbances, Y chromosome microdeletions, chromosomal abnormalities, single gene mutations, and sperm mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) rearrangements. To investigate the etiology of decreased sperm fertility and motility of sperm and to develop an appropriate therapeutic strategy, the molecular basis of these defects must be elucidated. In this study, we aimed to reveal the relationships between the genetic factors including sperm mtDNA mutations, Y chromosome microdeletions, and sperm parameters that can be regarded as candidate factors for male infertility. Thirty men with a history of infertility and 30 fertile men were recruited to the study. Y chromosome microdeletions were analyzed by multiplex PCR. Mitochondrial genes ATPase6, Cytb, and ND1, were amplified by PCR and then analyzed by direct sequencing. No Y chromosome microdeletions were detected in either group. However, a total of 38 different nucleotide substitutions were identified in the examined mitochondrial genes in both groups, all of which are statistically non-significant. Fifteen substitutions caused an amino acid change and 12 were considered novel mutations. As a conclusion, mtDNA mutations and Y chromosome microdeletions in male infertility should be examined in larger numbers in order to clarify the effect of genetic factors.

Quercetin treatment against ischemia/reperfusion injury in rat corpus cavernosum tissue: a role on apoptosis and oxidative stress.

Reactive oxygen metabolites play an important role in the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced tissue injury. This study was designed to investigate the possible protective effects of quercetin against I/R injury of the rat corpus cavernosum tissue. To induce I/R injury, abdominal aorta was clamped for 30 min and reperfused for 60 min. Quercetin (20 mg/kg) or vehicle was given before ischemia and just after reperfusion in the I/R group and in the sham-operated control group in which clamping was not performed. After decapitation, corpus cavernosum tissues were removed and either placed in organ baths or stored for evaluating biochemical parameters. Oxidative injury was examined by measuring lucigenin chemiluminescence (CL), nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activities and caspase-3 protein levels. In the I/R group, contractile responses to phenylephrine and relaxation responses to carbachol were impaired significantly compared with those in the control groups, while quercetin treatment in I/R group reversed both of the responses. On the other hand, increase in lucigenin CL, NO, MDA levels and MPO and caspase-3 activities and decrease in GSH levels and SOD activity in the cavernosal tissues of the I/R group were also significantly reversed by quercetin treatment. Furthermore, observed distorted morphology with ruptured endothelial cells and vacuolization in the cytoplasm of cavernosal tissues of I/R no longer persisted in the quercetin-treated I/R group. Thus, our results suggested that treatment with quercetin may have some benefits in controlling I/R-induced tissue injury through its anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, and antioxidant effects.