[Gammaglutamyl-transferase activity in human semen. Application to fertility studies (author's transl)]

The enzymatic activity of gammaglutamyl-transferase was measured in the semen of 79 male subjects undertaking fertility studies. The mean value obtained at 30 degrees C was 4898 +/- 2185 (mean +/- SD), which is 250 times the normal mean value in serum measured under identical conditions. No significant correlation was found between gammaglutamyl-transferase activity and sperm density, active lineal motility, and number with normal motility. Nor was a correlation found between gammaglutamyl-transferase activity and the concentration of citric acid, a marker of prostatic function, or fructose, a marker of seminal vesicle function. Very high levels of gammaglutamyl-transferase (25,000 and 16,850 U/l), and of citric acid (4,000 and 3,500 mg/dl) were found in two cases of excretory azoospermia, indicating that the prostate is probably the main origin of the enzyme, as described by other authors. Therefore, gammaglutamyl-transferase enzymatic activity could be utilized as a parameter of prostatic function in studies of male fertility.