Сибирский научный медицинский журнал (Nov 2020)
Interleukin-6 in the ejaculate in normal and pathological conditions of the male reproductive system
Abstract
The study of immune mechanisms in inflammatory diseases of the male reproductive system, androgen deficiency and male infertility continues. The relationship of the content of a particular component of seminal plasma with the indicators of ejaculate fertility – concentration, mobility and morphological features of spermatozoa was revealed. A prominent representative of the group of proinflammatory cytokines is interleukin-6 (IL-6), whose main functions are activation of the immune response in the acute phase of the systemic inflammatory response, stimulation of the expression of adhesive molecules on endothelial cells and leukocyte chemotaxis, activation of T - and B - lymphocyte proliferation, and stimulation of the granulocyte growth of hematopoiesis. In the male reproductive system, IL-6 is produced by Sertoli cells; it is found in the tissues of the testicles, in the ejaculate. It was found that an increase in the level of IL-6 is observed in some pathological conditions of the male reproductive system. An increase in the concentration of IL-6 in the seminal plasma is associated with the development of inflammatory processes in the organs of the male sexual system - it may indicate acute and chronic prostatitis, non-specific urethritis, and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. The fact of active production of IL-6 in the ejaculate in patients with leukocytospermia was revealed. In the case of viscous sperm syndrome, the level of IL-6 in the ejaculate also increases, presumably due to a reaction to the occurrence of oxidative stress in the male reproductive system. There was a negative relationship between the level of IL-6 in the ejaculate and spermatogenesis indicators – the concentration of spermatozoa, the progressive mobility of spermatozoa in men from infertile couples.
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