The Journal of Experimental Medicine
StemCell Technologies
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JEM
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Huggins, C.
Right arrow Articles by Neal, W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Huggins, C.
Right arrow Articles by Neal, W.
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol 76, 527-541, Copyright, 1942, by The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research New York


ARTICLE

COAGULATION AND LIQUEFACTION OF SEMEN : PROTEOLYTIC ENZYMES AND CITRATE IN PROSTATIC FLUID



Charles Huggins M.D.1 and William Neal M.D.1

1 From the Department of Surgery of The University of Chicago, Chicago

Certain specimens of human semen shorten the coagulation time of whole blood because of the presence of active thromboplastic agents, while other samples prolong its coagulation time. Human prostatic fluid in large amounts always delays or abolishes blood coagulation. The delay or absence of clotting is counteracted by adding calcium ions and is due to the large concentration of citrate in prostatic fluid and in some semens.

While most specimens of dog semen shorten the coagulation time of blood because of their thromboplastic activity, certain specimens render blood incoagulable or delay coagulation; in contrast to human semen, this adverse effect on coagulation is not overcome with calcium ions and is due to a different mechanism, the lysis of fibrinogen. The citrate content of dog prostatic fluid is small.

Human semen which has become liquefied does not contain thrombin or prothrombin, but fibrinogen and thromboplastic substances are present. Beef fibrinogen added to semen is destroyed by incubation for 18 hours, but added prothrombin and thromboplastic substances are still present after this treatment. Dog semen, in some instances, contains small amounts of thrombin.

The semens of man and dog contain a fibrinolysin for human blood which seems not to differ greatly from the fibrinolysin associated with hemolytic streptococci. The blood of the donor of prostatic fluid is susceptible to fibrinolysis by this fluid. However, the blood of persons with some diseases, is absolutely resistant to the action of seminal fibrinolysin. In how many diseases this happens has not yet been determined.

The semens of man and dog both contain an agent capable of inactivating fibrinogen, but in different amounts. This activity may be called fibrinogenase. Human semen is rich in fibrinolysin, poor in fibrinogenase; dog semen is rich in fibrinogenase, poor in fibrinolysin. These species differences, together with the fact that it is easy by appropriate dilution to retain the stronger proteolytic agent and eliminate the weaker one, imply that fibrinolysin and fibrinogenase are different entities.

Dog semen, and less constantly human semen, contain very small amounts of trypsin.

All of these proteolytic agents derive from the prostate gland; their secretion in prostatic fluid constitutes a hitherto undescribed function for the prostate gland.

Submitted on August 3, 1942


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search
TABLE OF CONTENTS