Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Vessel-Sparing Microsurgical Longitudinal Intussusception Vasoepididymostomy to Treat Epididymal Obstructive Azoospermia
Published on: May 27, 2022
Metabolic Fingerprinting of Seminal Plasma from Non-obstructive Azoospermia Patients: Positive Versus Negative Sperm
Kambiz Gilany1,2, Naser Jafarzadeh3, Ahmad Mani-Varnosfaderani4
1Reproductive Biotechnology Research Center, Avicenna Research Institute, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) occurs in approximately 10% of infertile men. Retrieval of the spermatozoa from the testicle of NOA patients is an invasive approach. Seminal plasma is an excellent source for exploring to find the biomarkers for presence of spermatozoa in testicular tissue. The present discovery phase study aimed to use metabolic fingerprinting to detect spermatogenesis from seminal plasma in NOA patients as a non-invasive method.
Methods:
In this study, 20 men with NOA were identified based on histological analysis who had their first testicular biopsy in 2015 at Avicenna Fertility Center, Tehran, Iran. They were divided into two groups, a positive testicular sperm extraction (TESE(+)) and a negative testicular sperm extraction (TESE(-)). Seminal plasma of NOA patients was collected before they underwent testicular sperm extraction (TESE) operation. The metabolomic fingerprinting was evaluated by Raman spectrometer. Principal component analysis (PCA) and an unsupervised statistical method, was used to detect outliers and find the structure of the data. The PCA was analyzed by MATLAB software.
Results:
Metabolic fingerprinting of seminal plasma from NOA showed that TESE (+) versus TESE(-) patients were classified by PCA. Furthermore, a possible subdivision of TESE(-) group was observed. Additionally, TESE(-) patients were in extreme oxidative imbalance compared to TESE(+) patients.
Conclusion:
Metabolic fingerprinting of seminal plasma can be considered as a breakthrough, an easy and cheap method for prediction presence of spermatogenesis in NOA.
Related Concept Videos
Positive, Negative, and Zero Work
Positive and Negative Feedback Loops
Retrieval
Recall involves accessing information without cues, such as during an essay test, where individuals must retrieve facts and concepts from memory unaided. Another example is remembering the name of a colleague...
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
Pharmacokinetics in Geriatric Patients: Effect of Age on Drug Metabolism
Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Metabolism and Excretion

