[Cloning of the idiopathic azoospermia related genes with mRNA differential display method].
OBJECTIVE
Defect of some genes related to spermatogenesis may result in male infertility with azoospermia. This study aimed to clone some of the genes.


METHODS
Testis tissues from a patient with idiopathic azoospermia and from a normal fathered man were investigated with an improved mRNA differential display approach.


RESULTS
Significant difference was observed between the two tissues in gene expression. Five differential expressed sequence-tags (ESTs) were cloned and sequenced. Homology analysis with software advanced BLAST 2.0 showed that one EST shared 100% homology with cosmid L27h9, which located in Huntington's disease region on 4p16.3; the other 4 showed very low homology with sequences in GenBank.


CONCLUSIONS
Azoospermia has complex genetic heterogeneity. A gene located in Huntington's disease region on 4p16.3 is expressed in human testis during the spermatogenesis, and a loss of its function may associate with azoospermia.
Yang
J
J
Department of Medical Genetics, West China University of Medical Sciences, Chengdu, 610041 P.R.China. zszg@wcums.edu.cn
Xiao
C
C
Zhang
S
S
Huang
M
M
Fan
T
T
Xia
Q
Q
D019976:Cloning, Organism; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009845:Oligospermia / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D012333:RNA, Messenger