Enzymes and cytomorphological sperm alterations in some diseases of the male reproductive system.

In this work the alterations of some acrosomal enzymes and gamma-GT were studied in diseases of the male genital tract. Thirty-two patients with vascular diseases, seven with inflammatory diseases and twenty-four controls were investigated. In all patients the sperm morphology was studied and the following enzymes were assayed: beta-glucuronidase, beta-galactosidase, beta-glucosidase and gamma-GT. In all patients with vascular and inflammatory diseases we found severe hypokinesis and decreased number of spermatozoa. The activity of all four enzymes in both pathological groups was decreased in comparison with the controls, and this decrease was significant for all enzymes in males with vascular diseases and for beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase in cases with inflammatory diseases. Our data show that the decrease of spermatozoal count was accompanied by a decreased enzyme activity. The role of decreased sperm plasma enzyme activity, the decreased production of spermatozoa and quantitative changes in structure and acrosome enzyme content are discussed.