A Study of Hyaluronidase in the Semen of the Husband in Infertile Marriages

Abstract

To determine whether a relationship exists between hyaluronidase concn. and sperm count in human semen, a study of the semen of 233 husbands of infertile marriages and of 18 controls of recently proven fertility was carried out. The hyaluronidase concn. of the semen specimens was measured by determining the rate of hydrolysis of hyaluronic acid as expressed in the decrease of its viscosity in soln. The viscosimetric apparatus was constructed along the lines as descr. by Werthessen, Berman, Greenberg and Gargill. The relation between hyaluronidase concn., y (in mg./ml.), and the sperm count, x (in millions per ml.), can be expressed by the equation: y2 = 0.0053 x for the patients'' semen specimens, and by y2 = .0059 x for the controls. For sperm counts lower than 60 million/ml,, the hyaluronidase concn. is on the avg. higher than calculated by the equation. An avg. of 0.055 mg. hyaluronidase per ml. is found in the semen of a no. of patients in the absence of spermatozoa in the ejaculate.