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This version published online on August 30, 2005
Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2005-1192
A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2005
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Submitted on May 27, 2005
Accepted on August 22, 2005

Human Sperm Sex Hormone-binding Globulin Isoform: Characterization and Measurement by Time-resolved Fluorescence Immunoassay

DAVID M. SELVA, LLUIS BASSAS, FRANCINA MUNELL, ANA MATA, FRANCIS TEKPETEY, JOHN G. LEWIS, and GEOFFREY L. HAMMOND*

Departments of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, and Child and Family Research Institute, Vancouver, Canada, Laboratory of Andrology and Embryology, Fundacio Puigvert, Barcelona, Spain, Grup de Recerca Endocrinologia Molecular, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada, Canterbury Health Laboratories, Christchurch, New Zealand

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ghammond{at}cw.bc.ca.

Context: Sex hormone-binding globulin gene (SHBG) expression in human testis results in an SHBG isoform that accumulates in the sperm head.

Objective: To further characterize the SHBG isoform in human sperm and to assess its biological relevance.

Design, Setting and Patients: A time-resolved immuno-fluorometric assay was established to measure SHBG isoform concentrations in sperm samples from patients and sperm donors attending in vitro fertilization clinics.

Results and Conclusions: Molecular characterization of SHBG transcripts in human testis and sperm, and biochemical analyses of the sperm SHBG isoform indicate that its smaller size compared with plasma SHBG is due to a lack of amino-terminal residues. The SHBG isoform is lost from sperm by one freeze and thaw cycle, and during capacitation, which suggests it is located in or between the outer acrosomal and sperm plasma membranes. Sperm SHBG levels were proportional to the number of sperm analyzed, and within assay variability in samples taken on different occasions from 7 of 9 individuals. Intra-assay and inter-assay variability (CV) was 5.8% and 8.5%, respectively. Sperm SHBG levels ranged from 6-49 pM / 106 sperm in 13 donor samples, and did not correlate with serum SHBG levels. Sperm SHBG levels were lowest in fertile men and highest in patients with untreated varicocele, but these differences were not significant. Patients studied for couple infertility, and those with surgically-treated varicocele, showed intermediate values. Sperm SHBG isoform levels correlate significantly with age and sperm motility and may influence sperm function in relation to male fertility.
Key words: ultra-sensitive immunoassay • glycosylation • alternative transcript • acrosome • male infertility • testis • varicocele • sperm motility






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