Figure 5

Dipeptide metabolism of sperm and seminal plasma. Panel A shows the relative abundance of the three dipeptides confirmed by targeted metabonomics. Panel B shows representative western blots for DPEP3 expression among the normal control group, varicocele group and varicocelectomy group. Blots were distributed on three different gels. Electrophoresis, hybridization and exposure were performed under the same conditions. The intensity of the bands was analyzed by Image J software, and t-test was used for statistical analysis. Panel C shows statistical results for each group. P: positive control, N: negative control, S: sample, N: normal control group, D: varicocele group, T: varicocelectomy group.^**P < 0.01; ^*P < 0.05.