Efficacy of coenzyme Q10 supplementation for male infertility with high sperm DNA fragmentation index: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Infertility is a focal issue in public health and affects human reproduction and survival. Notably, an increasing number of studies in recent decades have found that sperm DNA integrity plays a critical role in the development of healthy embryos. Among the multiple pathogenic factors of sperm DNA fragmentation, oxidative stress has proven to be predominant. Coenzyme Q10 supplementation, which has been used for the treatment of male infertility, has shown good clinical efficacy due to its oxidation resistance, but its efficacy as measured by the sperm DNA fragmentation index remains controversial. To address this issue, we will perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of coenzyme Q10 for male infertility patients with a high sperm DNA fragmentation index. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Studies and Web of Science databases will be comprehensively searched from inception to 31 December 2022 to identify relevant studies published in the English language using appropriate search strategies. The search terms will be derived from the following concepts: sperm DNA fragmentation, coenzyme Q10 and randomised controlled trials. Two review stages, that is, title and abstract screening and full-text screening, will be performed by two reviewers. The risk of bias, publication bias and evidence grade of the included studies will be assessed using a standardised protocol. Data will be used to calculate effect sizes. Heterogeneity among the studies will be evaluated graphically. Subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis will be performed if necessary to validate the results. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: No ethical approval will be needed, as there will be no participants in this study. We will follow the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to disseminate the findings through publication and conference presentation. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022293340.

The effect of acupuncture on oxidative stress: A systematic review and meta-analysis of animal models.

INTRODUCTION: Oxidative stress is involved in the occurrence and development of multiple diseases. Acupuncture shows an excellent clinical efficacy in practical application but its mechanism remains unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed at assessing the effect of acupuncture on oxidative stress in animal models. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science database were retrieved for randomized controlled trials about acupuncture on oxidative stress in animal models from inception to August 2021. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted articles according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. We used the mean difference (MD)/standardized mean difference (SMD) to perform an effect size analysis and selected fixed-effect or random-effect models to pool the data, depending on a 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: A total of 12 studies comprising 125 samples were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Compared with sham acupuncture, acupuncture (manual acupuncture, electropuncture, and laser acupuncture) reduced the level of malondialdehyde (SMD, -3.03; CI, -4.40, -1.65; p < 0.00001) and increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SMD, 3.39; CI, 1.99, 4.79; p < 0.00001), glutathione peroxidase (SMD, 2.21; CI, 1.10, 3.32; p < 0.00001), and catalase (SMD, 2.80; CI, 0.57, 5.03; p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis indicated that acupuncture can regulate oxidative stress by lowering the lipid peroxidation and activating the antioxidant enzyme system. In consideration of heterogeneity between studies, future studies should be performed by complying with strict standards and increasing sample size in animal experiments to reduce bias.

Antioxidant Mechanism of Xiaojin Pill () for Treatment of Peyronie's Disease in Rats Based on Matrix Metalloproteinases.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of Xiaojin Pill () in the treatment of Peyronie's disease (PD) in a rat model. METHODS: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups with 6 in each: sham operation, PD model, vehicle control and Xiaojin Pill groups. The rats in the sham operation group received penile tunica albsginea (TA) injection with 50 µL vehicle, while the rats in the other 3 groups received 50 µL penile TA injection of 50 µg transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1. Forty-two days after the injection, rats in the vehicle control and Xiaojin Pill groups received 0.5 mL water and Xiaojin Pill solution (107 mg/kg of body weight), respectively by gavage for 28 days, while those in the sham operation and PD model groups did not receive any intervention. After intervention, the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase 2/9 (MMP2/9), nitric oxidesynthase (NOS), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. RESULTS: Rats in the PD model and vehicle control groups presented obvious fibrosis in corpus cavernosum (CC) and demonstrated a significantly increased expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 in the CC compared with the sham operation group (all P<0.01). In contrast, the expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 in the Xiaojin Pill group were significantly down-regulated (both P<0.01). In addition, the levels of NOS and MDA in CC were significantly increased while the activity of SOD was decreased in the PD model and vehicle control groups compared with the sham operation group (all P<0.01). After Xiaojin Pill treatment, the levels of MDA, NOS and SOD appeared to be corrected (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Xiaojin Pill could reduce fibrosis in the CC by decreasing the expressions of MMPs, NOS and MDA, and by increasing the activity of SOD. Therefore, Xiaojin Pill might be a therapeutic option for PD.

Actl6a protects embryonic stem cells from differentiating into primitive endoderm.

Actl6a (actin-like protein 6A, also known as Baf53a or Arp4) is a subunit shared by multiple complexes including esBAF, INO80, and Tip60-p400, whose main components (Brg1, Ino80, and p400, respectively) are crucial for the maintenance of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, whether and how Actl6a functions in ESCs has not been investigated. ESCs originate from the epiblast (EPI) that is derived from the inner cell mass (ICM) in blastocysts, which also give rise to primitive endoderm (PrE). The molecular mechanisms for EPI/PrE specification remain unclear. In this study, we provide the first evidence that Actl6a can protect mouse ESCs (mESCs) from differentiating into PrE. While RNAi knockdown of Actl6a, which appeared highly expressed in mESCs and downregulated during differentiation, induced mESCs to differentiate towards the PrE lineage, ectopic expression of Actl6a was able to repress PrE differentiation. Our work also revealed that Actl6a could interact with Nanog and Sox2 and promote Nanog binding to pluripotency genes such as Oct4 and Sox2. Interestingly, cells depleted of p400, but not of Brg1 or Ino80, displayed similar PrE differentiation patterns. Mutant Actl6a with impaired ability to bind Tip60 and p400 failed to block PrE differentiation induced by Actl6a dysfunction. Finally, we showed that Actl6a could target to the promoters of key PrE regulators (e.g., Sall4 and Fgf4), repressing their expression and inhibiting PrE differentiation. Our findings uncover a novel function of Actl6a in mESCs, where it acts as a gatekeeper to prevent mESCs from entering into the PrE lineage through a Yin/Yang regulating pattern.

[Qilin pills combined with levofloxacin for asthenospermia accompanied with accessory sex gland infection: a clinical observation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the efficacy of the combination of Qilin Pills and levofloxacin in the treatment of asthenospermia accompanied with accessory sex gland infection. METHODS: We randomly assigned 80 asthenospermia patients with accessory sex gland infection to groups 1 and 2 of equal number, the former treated with Qilin Pills + levofloxacin, and the latter with levofloxacin only. Qilin Pills were administered at the dose of 6 g tid for 30 days, and levofloxacin at the dose of 0.5 g qd for 20 days. We obtained semen parameters, including the percentage of progressively motile sperm and peroxidase-positive white blood cell (WBC) count, before and after medication, and compared the clinical effects between the two groups. RESULTS: All the patients accomplished the clinical trial. The therapeutic effectiveness rates in improving progressive sperm motility were 60% in group 1 and 17.5% in group 2, with statistically significant differences between the two groups (P < 0.05). As for the peroxidase-positive WBC count in semen, the effectiveness rates were 87.5% and 82.5%, respectively, with no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: For the treatment of asthenospermia accompanied with accessory sex gland infection, Qilin Pills combined with levofloxacin is evidently better than levofloxacin alone in improving sperm motility, and it has no obvious adverse effects.