Volume 21, Issue 2 (March 2019) 21, 109–114; 10.4103/aja.aja_83_18
Regulation of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in males and the associations of serum AMH with the disorders of male fertility
Hui-Yu Xu1,2,3,4, Hong-Xian Zhang5, Zhen Xiao6, Jie Qiao1,2,3,4, Rong Li1,2,3,4
1 Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China 2 Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China 3 National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China 4 Beijing Key Laboratory of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology, Beijing 100191, China 5 Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China 6 Department of Reproductive Endocrinology, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College, Hangzhou 310014, China
Correspondence: Dr. R Li (roseli001@sina.com)
Date of Submission 01-Feb-2018 Date of Acceptance 20-Aug-2018 Date of Web Publication 26-Oct-2018
Abstract |
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a functional marker of fetal Sertoli cells. The germ cell number in adults depends on the number of Sertoli cells produced during perinatal development. Recently, AMH has received increasing attention in research of disorders related to male fertility. This paper reviews and summarizes the articles on the regulation of AMH in males and the serum levels of AMH in male fertility-related disorders. We have determined that follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) promotes AMH transcription in the absence of androgen signaling. Testosterone inhibits the transcriptional activation of AMH. The undetectable levels of serum AMH and testosterone levels indicate a lack of functional testicular tissue, for example, that in patients with anorchia or severe Klinefelter syndrome suffering from impaired spermatogenesis. The normal serum testosterone level and undetectable AMH are highly suggestive of persistent Müllerian duct syndrome (PMDS), combined with clinical manifestations. The levels of both AMH and testosterone are always subnormal in patients with mixed disorders of sex development (DSD). Mixed DSD is an early-onset complete type of disorder with fetal hypogonadism resulting from the dysfunction of both Leydig and Sertoli cells. Serum AMH levels are varying in patients with male fertility-related disorders, including pubertal delay, severe congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, nonobstructive azoospermia, Klinefelter syndrome, varicocele, McCune-Albright syndrome, and male senescence.
Keywords: anti-Müllerian hormone; disorders related to male fertility; follicle-stimulating hormone; testosterone
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