Cytokines in Semen of Normal Men and of Patients With Andrological Diseases

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Abstract
PROBLEM: The potential value of assessment of cytokine concentrations for the diagnosis of certain pathological conditions of male reproduction has not been fully evaluated.METHOD: The concentrations of interleukin 6 (IL‐6, pg/mL), its soluble receptor (IL‐6 sR, ng/mL), and of interleukin 1β (IL‐1β, pg/mL) have been measured in semen samples of 114 men and 12 corresponding blood sera.RESULTS: The concentration of IL‐6 was unrelated to that of its receptor. Both IL‐6 and IL‐6 sR were higher in the first (mean: 69 and 31 resp.) than in the second fraction (39 and 13) of split ejaculates, and were within normal limits in vasectomised men. The Interleukin Iβ concentration presented a strong positive correlated with that of IL‐6 (r=0.74, PP<0.01) in cases with accessory gland inflammation.CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of in particular IL‐6 in semen may contribute to the diagnosis of inflammatory disease of the accessory sex glands (positive predictive value = 98%, sensitivity = 72%, specificity = 94%), but it is not relevant for the diagnosis of immunological disease.