concanavalin-a and Prostatitis

16 men with chronic prostatitis were evaluated immunologically in order to examine possible relationships between prostate infection, defective cellular immune responses and the occurrence of sperm antibodies. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMN) from 14 of 16 (88%) patients exhibited reduced or absent responses in vitro when incubated with an extract of Candida albicans. PBMN proliferation in response to the mitogen Concanavalin A (Con A) was reduced in 5 of 16 (31%) men. In addition, sera from 6 patients inhibited the Candida-induced proliferative response of control PBMC; 2 of these sera also reduced the Con A-directed response. Sperm antibodies, evaluated by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using fresh motile spermatozoa, were found in 9 of 16 (56%) patients. PBMC responses were reduced in all, and suppressive sera present in 5, of the men with sperm antibodies. IgG antibodies predominated. 4 of the sera positive by ELISA also agglutinated spermatozoa. Levels of IgG sperm antibodies were correlated with the degree of immunosuppression by patient sera (p less than 0.02). These data suggest that decreased cellular immunity and enhanced humoral reactivity to sperm are common in men with chronic prostatitis. Both may contribute to an increased rate of prostatic infection in these men.

Topics: Adult; Antibodies; Antibody Formation; Antigen-Antibody Complex; Candida albicans; Concanavalin A; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Humans; Immune Tolerance; Infertility, Male; Lymphocyte Activation; Male; Middle Aged; Prostatitis; Spermatozoa; T-Lymphocytes

The heterogeneity of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) in seminal plasma has been studied using Con A-chromatography. This parameter was then related to the fructose concentration, the acid phosphatase activity, ejaculate volume, sperm density and the number of bacteria per ml. Multivariate regression analysis and stepwise elimination of the least fitting factors, revealed that Con A-binding correlated with the number of bacteria per ml of semen and the acid phosphatase activity with 49% of the variance of GGT-binding being explained by these parameters. This result suggests that glycosylation of seminal GGT is altered by accessory gland infection. Neuraminidase digestion suggests that the pattern of Con A-binding of seminal GGT depends only partly on its sialic acid content.

Topics: Acid Phosphatase; Carbohydrate Metabolism; Chromatography, Affinity; Concanavalin A; gamma-Glutamyltransferase; Genital Diseases, Male; Humans; Infections; Male; Neuraminidase; Prostatitis; Semen

Concanavalin A (Con A)-inducible suppressor cell activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of urologic cancer patients and of appropriate controls with benign urologic disorders was measured concurrently. Although the proliferative responses to Con A of the cancer patients were significantly lower than those of controls, no difference in Con A-induced suppressor cell activity was demonstrated between cancer patients and controls when tested under a variety of conditions. Moreover, regression analysis revealed no correlation between the proliferative response to Con A and suppressor cell activity in either cancer patients or controls. The results indicated that Con A-inducible suppressor cell activity was unaltered in urologic cancer patients and suggested that suppressor cells of the type that can be activated by Con A were not involved in the general immunologic impairment frequently associated with urologic cancer.

Topics: Adenocarcinoma; Concanavalin A; Female; Humans; Kidney Calculi; Kidney Neoplasms; Lymphocyte Activation; Male; Middle Aged; Prostatic Hyperplasia; Prostatic Neoplasms; Prostatitis; T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory; Urethral Stricture; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms; Urinary Tract Infections; Urogenital Neoplasms