Table 1.
Description of the semen parameters of subjects included in this study (mean ± SD).
Fig 1.
UCHL3 localization and level in asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic men.
(A) Representative immunofluorescence for the UCHL3 protein (green) in spermatozoa from normozoospermia, asthenozoospermia and oligoasthenozoospermia. UCHL3 mainly localized in the acrosome and the flagella (arrow). The scale bar was 20 μm. (B, C) Western blot detection for UCHL3. α-tubulin was the reference. Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates.*p < 0.05 compared with N.
Fig 2.
Correlations of the UCHL3 level with (A) sperm concentration, (B) sperm count and (C, D) sperm motility (PR, TM) in spermatozoa from normozoospermia, asthenozoospermia, and oligoasthenozoospermia. Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates.
Fig 3.
Correlations of the UCHL3 level with (A) Normal fertilization rate, (B) cleavage rate, (C) percentage of embryos suitable for transfer/cryopreservation and (D) high-quality embryo rate in spermatozoa from IVF and ICSI cycles. Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates.
Fig 4.
Enzymatic activity of ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolases was decreased in spermatozoa from asthenozoospermic and oligoasthenozoospermic men.
Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates. The inhibitor ubiquitin aldehyde was used as a negative control. Superscripts a, b and c denote significant differences at p < 0.05.
Fig 5.
Correlations of the UCH enzymatic activity with (A) sperm concentration, (B) sperm count and (C, D) sperm motility (PR, TM) in spermatozoa from normozoospermia, asthenozoospermia and oligoasthenozoospermia. Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates.
Fig 6.
Correlations of the UCH enzymatic activity with (A) normal fertilization rate, (B) cleavage rate, (C) percentage of embryos suitable for transfer/cryopreservation and (D) high-quality embryo rate in spermatozoa from IVF and ICSI cycles. Data were expressed as mean ± SD of three replicates.