Matti Vierula

• University of Turku

Study question: Does semen quality improve during early adulthood? Summary answer: Semen variables change little during the third decade of life, however some improvement in sperm morphology and motility may occur. What is known already: A suspicion of deteriorating semen quality has been raised in several studies. The longitudinal development...

To provide information of semen quality among normal young Japanese men and indicate the frequency of reduced semen quality. Cross-sectional, coordinated studies of Japanese young men included from university areas. The men had to be 18-24 years, and both the man and his mother had to be born in Japan. Background information was obtained from quest...

Finnish men have had a reputation for good semen quality. This was based on semen studies comparing Finnish men with other Europeans. However, those studies also showed that sperm concentrations of young men from the general population were only two-thirds of those of fertile men. Longitudinal follow-up of semen quality in young Finnish men showed...

To establish a base line for future studies on temporal trends, to describe potential geographical differences in semen quality and reference values for studies of men from the general population. Cross-sectional study of fertile men from four areas in Japan. Inclusion criteria were: age 20-45 years at the time of invitation, and both the man and h...

Objective: To investigate whether a population-level decline in serum testosterone exists in Finnish men. In comparison with other European populations, Finnish men have compared well in the studies of reproductive health (i.e. semen quality, incidence of cryptorchidism and testicular cancer); thus, we expected no significant cohort-dependent decr...

Impaired semen quality and testicular cancer may be linked through a testicular dysgenesis syndrome of foetal origin. The incidence of testis cancer has been shown to increase among Finnish men, whereas there is no recent publication describing temporal trends in semen quality. Therefore, we carried out a prospective semen quality study and a regis...

In North European countries, a significant difference in semen quality among young men has been shown. Men from the western countries, Denmark, Germany and Norway, have lower semen quality than men from the eastern countries Finland, Estonia and Lithuania. Similarly, men in the western countries have a higher risk of testicular cancer. According to...

To describe associations between serum inhibin-b and sperm counts, adjusted for effect of time of blood sampling, in larger cohorts than have been previously reported. Cross-sectional studies of spermatogenesis markers. Four European and four US centers. Fertile men (1,797) were included and examined from October 1996-February 2005. The study was o...

Ultrastruktur eines Schwanzstummel-Defektes bei den Spermatozoen eines sterilen Ayrshire-Bullen Die Spermatozoen aus dem Ejakulat eines sterilen Ayrshire-Bullen wurden sowohl licht-mikroskopisch als auch mittels SEM und TEM untersucht. Dabei ergab sich fast überall ein Fehlen der Schwänze der Spermatozoen, während die Spermatozoenköpfe morphologisc...

The semen of a 3-year-old golden retriever was examined for breeding purposes. When the morphology of the spermatozoa was analysed for the first time, 37% were observed to have giant heads. In most of the giant heads, a diadem defect was also found. The dog was successfully used for breeding. On re-examination, the percentage of giant heads was fou...

Population studies have shown that a high proportion of Nordic men may have so poor semen quality that they can be classified as sub-fertile according to international standards. A question is whether the Nordic data are specific for the Nordic countries or they should be seen as an expression of a general trend in Europe. We therefore carried out...

Between 1996 and 1999, the authors invited all young men from five European countries who were undergoing compulsory medical examination for possible military service to participate in a study on male reproductive health. The participation rate was 19% in two cities in Denmark (n = 889), 17% in Oslo, Norway (n = 221), 13% in Turku, Finland (n = 313...

In the present study, we developed a novel method to analyze the calcium (Ca2+) signal in living slices of mouse caput epididymides by applying calcium imaging on Fura-2-loaded vibratome slices. The data revealed that in epithelial cells of mouse caput epididymides, ATP induces a rapid Ca2+ signal that is sustained after 60 sec. Preincubating the s...

A new infertility syndrome has recently been described in Finnish Yorkshire boars. Typical for the syndrome is total akinesia and severe tail malformation of the spermatozoa. Morphometric analysis was performed on semen smears from 20 affected and 18 control boars and on testicular tissue sections from 5 affected and 4 control boars. Semen morphome...

Denmark and Norway have a three-fold higher incidence of testicular cancer than Estonia and Finland. Groups of young men from Denmark, Norway, Finland and Estonia were investigated to elucidate whether semen parameters and other related parameters follow a gradient between these countries, as does the gradient in incidence of testicular cancer. In...

In fertile populations, little is known about the association between semen parameters and time to pregnancy (TTP). Pregnant women from Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Paris and Turku who conceived without medical intervention were asked for their TTP (942 couples), and their partners provided a semen sample. The proportion of morphologically normal sperm a...

A previous European study found a longer time to pregnancy (TTP) among fertile women from Paris compared with women from other Western European countries. A co-ordinated, cross-sectional study of pregnant couples from Denmark (Copenhagen), France (Paris), Scotland (Edinburgh) and Finland (Turku) was therefore undertaken to assess differences in wai...

Recently, differences in semen quality have been found among the partners of pregnant women from four European cities: Turku, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Paris. During this study, slides from the four centres were subjected to a centralized assessment of sperm morphology. The percentages of sperm defects were recorded using a multiple-entry classific...

Recent reports have indicated a decrease in semen quality of men in some countries, and suggested regional differences. A study was undertaken of semen samples from 1082 fertile men from four European cities (Copenhagen, Denmark; Paris, France; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Turku, Finland). Semen analysis was standardized, inter-laboratory differences i...

Several reports have suggested that sperm counts of normal men have declined in many geographical regions during the last decades. Deterioration of sperm morphology has also been reported in some studies covering long sample collecting periods. The original semen analysis data of our semen laboratory from the period 1980--1994 showed a significant...

Based on strong epididymal expression of the mouse glutathione peroxidase 5 (GPX5) and cysteine-rich secretory protein-1 (CRISP-1) genes, we evaluated whether the 5.0-kilobase (kb)-long GPX5 and 3.8-kb-long CRISP-1 gene 5'-flanking regions could be used to target expression of genes of interest into the epididymis in transgenic mice. Of the two can...

To assess differences in semen quality between similar populations from Denmark and Finland. Comparison of semen quality between 221 Finnish men (of whom 115 had no proven fertility) and 411 Danish men with no proven fertility in two follow-up studies among normal couples trying to conceive. In Finland male partners of couples without experienced i...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a key regulator of endothelial growth and permeability. However, VEGF may also target nonendothelial cells, as VEGF receptors and responsiveness have been detected for example in monocytes, and high concentrations of VEGF have been reported in human semen. In this work we present evidence that overexpres...

Combining the traditional morphologic evaluation of spermatozoa with computer assisted image analysis adds randomness, objectivity, repeatability and accuracy to morphometric measurements. We collected semen from 10 fertile, normospermic dogs aged 1 to 7 yr and from 3 teratozoospermic breed-matched dogs. Sperm head morphology was examined in Giemsa...

Several recent reports have suggested that the sperm counts of normal men are declining in most countries. In this study the sperm counts of Finnish men, and their possible changes during the past 28 years, were investigated. The material consisted of semen samples from 238 normal healthy men of unknown fertility and 5481 men from infertile couples...

In previous studies we reported the synthesis, secretion, and immunolocalization at the light microscopic level of two mouse epididymal proteins, MEP 7 and MEP 10 [Rankin et al. (1992b), Biol. Reprod., 46:747–766]. MEP 7 is the mouse homologue of the rat metalloproteins, AEG/D and E, and MEP 10 is the mouse homologue of the rat retinoic acid bindin...

To find out whether macrophage inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha) has a role in the regulation of germ cell development, we studied its effects on spermatogenic stage-specific DNA synthesis in vitro. MIP-1 alpha increased the DNA synthesis of primitive type A2-4 spermatogonia and of premeiotic cells, whereas the DNA synthesis of more differ...

To find out whether macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α) has a role in the regulation of germ cell development, we studied its effects on spermatogenic stage-specific DNA synthesis in vitro. MIP-1α increased the DNA synthesis of primitive type A2–4 spermatogonia and of premeiotic cells, whereas the DNA synthesis of more differentiated interm...

We have recently observed that a polyclonal antibody raised against a mouse epididymal luminal fluid protein (MEP 9) recognizes a 25-kDa antigen in mouse testis and epididymis [Rankin et al., Biol Reprod 1992; 46:747-766]. This antigen was localized by light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry. The immunoreactivity in the testis was found...

A 25-kDa epididymal secretory protein (MEP 9), isolated from mouse epididymal fluid, has recently been characterized in our laboratory [Rankin et al., Biol Reprod 1992; 46:747-766]. The polyclonal antibody raised against this protein was found to recognize a 25-kDa component in epididymal fluid and testicular extract. The 25-kDa testicular antigen...

We have recently observed that a polyclonal antibody raised against a mouse epididymal luminal fluid protein (MEP 9) recognizes a 25-kDa antigen in mouse testis and epididymis [Rankin et al., Biol Reprod 1992; 46:747-766]. This antigen was localized by light and electron microscopic immunohistochemistry. The immunoreactivity in the testis was found...

The effect of acrosomal aberrations of the spermatozoa of Finnish Ayrshire bulls on the corrected non-return rate within 60 days of the first 500 inseminations was studied. The material consisted of sperm samples examined by the artificial insemination societies. All samples had been accepted for use in artificial insemination. One Giemsa-stained s...

Three cases of tail stump sperm defect have been presented in Finnish Ayrshire bulls. The semen samples of the bulls showed markedly reduced number of sperm with almost total absence of tails. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy of the testi-cular samples revealed the testicular origin of the defect. The anlagen of the implantation fossa,...

Der Einfluß des Seminalplasmas und des Calciums auf die Stabilität der Flächenproteinkomposition der Bullenspermatozoen Ejakulierte Bullenspermatozoen wurden in verschiedenen Medien inkubiert, um den Einfluß des Seminalplasmas und des Calciums auf die Stabilität der Protein-Komposition der Spermatozoenoberfläche zu untersuchen. Die Spermatozoen wur...

The surface proteins of intact rat, ram, boar and bull spermatozoa from caput and cauda epididymidis were radioiodinated and analysed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The maturational changes in sperm surface protein patterns of the different species were compared to elucidate any possible common features or differences in the surface pro...

The surface proteins of bull spermatozoa from caput and cauda epididymidis were labelled by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed radioiodination and solubilized and analysed by SDS-PAG-electrophoresis. The surface protein patterns of caput and cauda epididymal spermatozoa resembled each other but some distinct differences could be found. Caput epididymal sper...

Surface-radioiodinated bull spermatozoa were ultrasonicated and fractionated by Percoll-gradient centrifugation. The different fractions obtained were solubilized and analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Three fractions containing sperm heads, midpieces, and membranes and small fragments of the principal pieces were obtained. The ele...

Surface proteins of ejaculated bull spermatozoa were radioiodinated, solubilized and characterized by sodium dodecyl sulphate--polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The electron microscopic autoradiographs showed that the labelling was equally distributed to all parts of the spermatozoon and restricted to the sperm surface. The electrophoresis of sol...

Objective: To assess differences in semen quality between similar populations from Denmark and Finland. Design: Comparison of semen quality between 221 Finnish men (of whom 115 had no proven fertility) and 411 Danish men with no proven fertility in two follow-up studies among normal couples trying to conceive. Methods: In Finland male partners of c...