Effects of hochu-ekki-to, a Japanese kampo medicine, on cultured hamster epididymal cells.

In Japan, Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41), a Japanese Kampo preparation is used extensively in the treatment of idiopathic male infertility. In order to elucidate the mechanism of how this drug affects spermatogenesis, we examined the effects of the sera from male mice to which TJ-41 was administered orally, on protein synthesis in cultured hamster epididymal cells. Golden hamster epididymal cells were cultured in RPMI1640 medium supplemented with FCS for 7 to 10 days. After the initial culture period, the medium was changed to RPMI1640 supplemented with 1 microCi/ml [3H]-leucine and 10% serum from male ICR mice to which TJ-41 was orally administered for 7 days. The culture was then continued for 20 hours, and the uptake of [3H]-leucine into the cultured hamster epididymal cells was measured. The uptake of [3H]-leucine was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in cells cultured in media supplemented with sera from the TJ-41 treated mice than in cells cultured with control sera. Elements in the sera from control and TJ-41 treated mice were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (Waters HPLC, type 510; Milipore) with a mu-Bondapack C18 column. Several new peaks were detected in the sera from TJ-41 treated mice. These results and the clinical data suggest that TJ-41 may promote the synthesis of several proteins which might he related to the functional maturation of spermatozoa in the epididymis.