DETECTION OF MONOCYTE CHEMOTACTIC AND ACTIVATING FACTOR (MCAF) AND INTERLEUKIN (IL)-6 IN HUMAN SEMINAL PLASMA AND EFFECT OF LEUKOSPERMIA ONTHESE CYTOKINE LEVELS

PROBLEM: To demonstrate whether monocyte chemotactic and activating fa ctor (MCAF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are present in the seminal plasma , and whether these presence is modulated by leukospermia. METHODS: Se men samples from 53 men were obtained by masturbation and examined for the presence of MCAF and IL-6 by enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Semen samp les were obtained from 28 infertile men without leukospermia, 16 infer tile men with leukospermia, and nine proven-fertile men, The correlati on between the amount of MCAF in the seminal plasma with some spermiog ram parameters and other cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-8 was statistic ally evaluated. RESULTS: Immunoreactive MCAF was detected in the semin al plasmas of all 53 subjects. The MCAF titer in the seminal plasma of patients with leukospermia (11.19 +/- 2.75 mu g/l) was significantly higher than that in the seminal plasma of the patients without leukosp ermia (3.24 +/- 0.53 mu g/l) and the fertile men (2.78 +/- 0.35 mu g/l ) (P < 0.001). The IL-6 titer in the seminal plasma of the patients wi th leukospermia (21.05 +/- 4.49 ng/l) was also significantly higher th an that in the seminal plasma of the patients without leukospermia (8. 77 +/- 1.92 ng/l) and the fertile men (6.94 +/- 1.27 ng/l) (P < 0.01). There was a high degree of correlation among the levels of MCAF, IL-6 and IL-8 in the seminal plasma. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstra ted the presence of MCAF and IL-6 in the seminal plasma, and that the levels of these cytokines were elevated in the seminal plasma of the i nfertile patients with leukospermia,