Purpose

To study the effector mechanism against pathogens of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and macrophages, called ETosis, involving the release of extracellular traps (ETs) in patients with acute epididymitis. To assess the different ET phenotypes present in semen samples and to identify correlations between ETosis and clinical parameters.

Materials and methods

Samples from patients diagnosed with acute epididymitis were examined and compared with samples from uninfected controls. Biochemical analyses of seminal fluid included determination of peroxidase, α-glucosidase, fructose, and elastase levels. ETosis in semen was determined through presence of citrullinated histones, global histones, and extracellular DNA. Different ETosis phenotypes such as spread ETs, aggregated ETs, and diffuse ETs were identified by co-localisation of extruded DNA with myeloperoxidase and global histones. Anti-CD15⁺ and anti-CD68⁺ antibodies were used to identify different cell lines.

Results

Revealed a high number of ETs compared with the control group. The mean number of CD15⁺PMN and CD68⁺ macrophages was higher in the acute epididymitis group. ETosis increase in ejaculates correlated with clinical parameters such as enhancement of elastase concentrations and diminution of fructose in the semen.

Conclusions

This work shows for the first time the presence of ETs and their components in semen from patients with acute epididymitis. The presence of infections is an important factor for induction of ETs in semen. Furthermore, the presence of ETosis in ejaculates is suggestive of developing infectious processes and might possibly have a diagnostic value.

中文翻译：

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在人类急性附睾炎患者的精液样本中增加白细胞衍生的细胞外陷阱 (ET) - 一项初步研究。

目的

研究针对多形核中性粒细胞 (PMN) 和巨噬细胞病原体的效应机制，称为 ETosis，涉及急性附睾炎患者细胞外陷阱 (ETs) 的释放。评估精液样本中存在的不同 ET 表型，并确定 ETosis 与临床参数之间的相关性。

材料和方法

对诊断为急性附睾炎的患者的样本进行了检查，并与未感染对照的样本进行了比较。精液的生化分析包括过氧化物酶、α-葡萄糖苷酶、果糖和弹性蛋白酶水平的测定。精液中的 ETosis 是通过瓜氨酸组蛋白、整体组蛋白和细胞外 DNA 的存在来确定的。不同的 ETosis 表型，如扩散 ET、聚集 ET 和弥漫性 ET，通过挤压 DNA 与髓过氧化物酶和全局组蛋白的共定位来鉴定。抗CD15 ⁺和抗CD68 ⁺抗体用于鉴定不同的细胞系。

结果

与对照组相比，显示出大量的 ET。CD15 ⁺ PMN 和 CD68 ⁺巨噬细胞的平均数量在急性附睾炎组中更高。射精中 ETosis 的增加与临床参数相关，例如弹性蛋白酶浓度的增加和精液中果糖的减少。

结论

这项工作首次表明急性附睾炎患者精液中存在 ET 及其成分。感染的存在是在精液中诱导 ET 的重要因素。此外，射精中 ETosis 的存在提示感染过程的发展，并且可能具有诊断价值。