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Objectives: To compare the prevalence of chronic periodontitis between men who had semen abnormalities and those who had normozoospermia through a case–control study. Materials and Methods: Male patients who visited the assisted reproduction clinic of a large general hospital and were diagnosed with semen abnormalities were included in the case group. The control group was composed of patients of the same clinic with normozoospermia. The semen analysis included sperm concentration, count and progressive and total motility, which were measured in the laboratory. A questionnaire and clinical periodontal examination were conducted for all participants. Logistic regression was performed to explore the relationship between chronic periodontitis and male infertility. Results: A total of 192 participants were included: 63 participants (32.8%) had some type of semen abnormality (case group), while 129 participants (67.2%) had normozoospermia (control group). The case group had a significantly higher prevalence of moderate/severe periodontitis than the control group (33.3% vs. 17.8%, p =.012). The logistic regression showed that participants who had moderate/severe periodontitis had a greater chance of having semen abnormalities after adjusting for other confounding factors (OR = 3.377, p =.005). Conclusions: Periodontitis is associated with semen abnormalities and sperm motility in men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BCL-2-associated athanogene-1(BAG-1) is a multifunctional and anti-apoptotic protein that was first identified as a binding partner of BCL-2. But the effects and mechanisms for BAG-1 against hypoxic damage is unclear up to now. Whether BAG-1 could protect the human brain against hypoxic damage through up-regulating 70 kDa heat shock proteins (HSP70) and PI3K/AKT pathway activation? In present study, we examined the changes of HSP70 and AKT and p-AKT protein level in SH-SY5Y cells with BAG-1L gene over-expression subjected to hypoxia/re-oxygenation injury. BAG-1L over-expression increased neuronal viability, and it reduced apoptosis of neurons after hypoxia/re-oxygenation for 8 h. BAG-1L over-expression enhanced the HSP70 protein levels and increased p-AKT/total AKT ratio after hypoxia/re-oxygenation for 8 h. These results suggest that BAG-1L over-expression protects against hypoxia/re-oxygenation injury, at least in part, by interacting with HSP70, and by accelerating the activation of PI3K/AKT pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]