Aim: To investigate a simple method for assaying acrosin activity for the evaluation of male fertility. Methods: The acrosin activity of 7.5106 sperm without seminal plasma and acrosin activity inhibitors was assayed using N--benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BAPNA) and detergent (Triton X-100) as substrate. Results: The acrosin activity of 60 normal fertile men (3510 IU/106 sperm ) was higher than that of 168 infertile men (168 IU/106 sperm) (P0.01). It was indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the acrosin activity and the sperm motility (r0.6534, P0.01)and a significant negative correlation between the sperm malformed rate and the WBC number (rܣ0.5426, P0.01). The temperature and time of incubation and the sperm concentration could influence the assay results. Conclusion: Acrosin activity is an important index for the evaluation of male fertility. The approach developed by the authors is a simple method for the determination of acrosin activity.

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