Aim: To investigate a simple method for assaying acrosin activity for the evaluation of male fertility.
Methods: The acrosin activity of 7.5 x 10(6) sperm without seminal plasma and acrosin activity inhibitors was assayed using N-alpha-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) and detergent (Triton X-100) as substrate.
Results: The acrosin activity of 60 normal fertile men (35 +/- 10 microIU/10(6) sperm ) was higher than that of 168 infertile men (16 +/- 8 microIU/10(6) sperm) (P < 0. 01). It was indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the acrosin activity and the sperm motility (r > or = 0.6534, P < 0.01) and a significant negative correlation between the sperm malformed rate and the WBC number (r < or = -0.5426, P < 0.01). The temperature and time of incubation and the sperm concentration could influence the assay results.
Conclusion: Acrosin activity is an important index for the evaluation of male fertility. The approach developed by the authors is a simple method for the determination of acrosin activity.