Serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone strongly correlates with intratesticular testosterone in gonadotropin-suppressed normal men receiving various dosages of human chorionic gonadotropin

• Published in: Fertility and sterility Vol. 89; no. 2; pp. 380 - 386
• Main Authors: Amory, John K., M.D., M.P.H, Coviello, Andrea D., M.D., M.S.E, Page, Stephanie T., M.D., Ph.D, Anawalt, Bradley D., M.D, Matsumoto, Alvin M., M.D, Bremner, William J., M.D., Ph.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2008
• Subjects: 17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone - blood; 17-hydroxyprogesterone; Adolescent; Adult; Androstenedione - analysis; Biopsy, Fine-Needle; Chorionic Gonadotropin - administration & dosage; Contraceptive Agents, Male - administration & dosage; Dehydroepiandrosterone - analysis; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Gonadotropins - antagonists & inhibitors; Humans; Infertility, Male - blood; Infertility, Male - drug therapy; Internal Medicine; Intratesticular testosterone; Male; male contraception; male infertility; Middle Aged; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Placebos; Testis - chemistry; Testis - drug effects; Testosterone - analysis; 17-hydroxyprogesterone; Intratesticular testosterone; male contraception; male infertility
• ISSN: 0015-0282; 1556-5653
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2007.02.059

Objective To determine if serum concentrations of testosterone precursors would correlate with intratesticular testosterone (ITT) concentration measured directly by testicular aspiration and allow for a less invasive means of inferring ITT. Design Controlled clinical study. Setting Healthy volunteers in an academic research environment. Patient(s) Twenty-nine normal men. Intervention(s) We determined ITT concentration by testicular aspiration before and after treatment in men receiving exogenous T to block endogenous gonadotropin production and randomly assigned to one of four doses of hCG (0, 125 IU, 250 IU, or 500 IU every other day) for 3 weeks. Main Outcome Measure(s) The association between serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OH-P), androstenedione, and DHEA and ITT. Result(s) With T administration alone, serum 17OH-P decreased significantly and increased significantly when 500 IU hCG was administered. End-of-treatment ITT strongly correlated with serum 17OH-P. Moreover, serum 17OH-P, but not androstenedione or DHEA, was independently associated with end-of-treatment ITT by multivariate linear regression. Conclusion(s) Serum 17OH-P is highly correlated with ITT in gonadotropin-suppressed normal men receiving T and stimulated with hCG. Serum 17OH-P is a surrogate biomarker of ITT and may be useful in research and in men receiving gonadotropin therapy for infertility.