Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, Vol 52, 796-803, Copyright © 1981 by Endocrine Society

ARTICLES

An inverse relationship exists between seminal plasma inhibin and serum follicle-stimulating hormone in man

RS Scott and HG Burger

Inhibin concentrations were measured in 109 seminal plasma samples obtained from 32 normal subjects, 51 infertile patients with either azoospermia or oligospermia, and 20 patients 2-8 months post vasectomy. The infertile group included 14 azoospermic patients with raised peripheral plasma FSH levels (6.8-30.2 IU/liter) and 17 azoospermic patients in whom FSH levels were normal. Only 6 of the 20 patients with oligospermia had raised FSH levels. Seminal plasma inhibin was measured in individual samples using a quantitative in vitro rat anterior pituitary cell culture bioassay in which FSH cell anterior pituitary cell culture bioassay in which FSH cell content was measured after 72 h of incubation with the inhibin-containing material. Biopotencies were determined using combined multiple parallel line assays with reference to an inhibin standard with a potency of 1 U/mg. The concentrations of inhibin in normal seminal plasma were 31.4 +/- 3.0 U/ml, which contrasted with the low levels found in azoospermic patients with high plasma FSH levels. Of these, seven had undetectable inhibin levels (less than 2.5 U/ml) and seven had values ranging from 4.2-8.5 U/ml. These concentrations were significantly lower than those in azoospermic patients, in whom FSH was not raised (18.9 +/- 2.2 U/ml). Seminal plasma inhibin levels post vasectomy were 16.9 +/- 2.3 U/ml and were not significantly different from those measured in azoospermic-normal FSH patients. Peripheral plasma FSH levels were expressed as a function of seminal plasma inhibin concentrations (r = -0.736; P less than 0.001; excluding those patients with vasal obstruction). These findings show that inhibin-like activity in seminal plasma is reduced in infertile men with raised peripheral plasma FSH levels, and that a reciprocal inverse relationship exists between serum FSH and seminal plasma inhibin concentrations.

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