Seminal suPAR Levels as Marker of Abacterial Male Accessory Gland Inflammation in Hypogonadism

Recent evidences suggest that hypogonadism is an important risk factor for lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Several papers have discussed the role of chronic inflammation in the development of BPH, which may be modulated by the hypogonadal state. Soluble Urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Receptor (suPAR), known protein marker of systemic inflammation, can be assayed in the seminal plasma and represents a reliable and sensitive marker of inflammation for the Male Accessory Gland Inflammation (MAGI).

The aim of this study has been to investigate if seminal suPAR is elevated in MAGI with hypogonadism and if suPAR represent a useful marker of abacterial inflammation in hypogonadism.

We included in the study twenty male patients aged between 25 and 55 year-old with secondary postsurgical hypogonadism. The same patients were also evaluated after a 3-month of Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), to evaluate the effect of androgen replacement therapy on suPAR. Ten fertile men have been enrolled as a control group in the protocol. SuPAR concentrations were assayed on seminal plasma using an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit.

Hypogonadic patients presented significantly increased levels of seminal suPAR respect to controls (86.1±36.8 vs 55.2±20.0 ng/mL, p<0.05). TRT in hypogonadic patients has been associated with a significant reduction of suPAR levels as reported in the control group (50.9±22.91 vs 86.1±36.8 ng/ml p<0.05).

These results confirm the role of suPAR as a protein marker of MAGI and support the hypothesis that hypogonadism induces a state of inflammation in male accessory glands which is involved in male infertility. Moreover demonstrated that testosterone treatment probably exerts a positive effect on MAGI and infertility as documented by reduction of suPAR levels in hypogonadic treated patients.