Y chromosome microdeletions in idiopathic infertile men from West Azarbaijan.
BACKGROUND
Although assisted reproduction techniques are used extensively in Iran, screening for Y chromosome microdeletions before intracytoplasmic sperm injection is often undervalued. Our aim was to investigate Y chromosome microdeletions in men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligospermia.


METHODS
In 99 selected patients with azoospermia or severe oligospermia and elevated levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone in combination with low serum testosterone levels, 20 pairs of sequence-tagged site-based primer sets specific for the Y microdeletion loci were analyzed. Primers were chosen to cover azoospermia factor (AZF) regions as well as deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) and the sex-determining region on Y chromosome (SRY) genes. Also, 100 healthy men served as a control group.


RESULTS
Twenty-four patients (24.2%) had microdeletions in AZF genes, but no microdeletions were found in men in the control group. In 15 patients (62.5%), 1 deletion was found. Six patients (25%) had 2, and 3 (12.5%) had 3 deletions. The deletions mainly comprised the AZFc region (in 21 of 24 patients; 87.5%), which corresponds to the DAZ gene. Deletions in AZFb were found in 7 patients (29.2%), and 4 (16.7%) had deletions in the proximal part of AZF regions near SRY gene. No microdeletions were seen in the AZFa or SRY gene.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results emphasize that Y chromosome microdeletion analysis should be carried out in all patients with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligospermia who are candidates for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Omrani
Mir Davood
MD
Department of Genetics, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran. davood_omrani@umsu.ac.ir
Samadzadae
Saied
S
Bagheri
Mortaza
M
Attar
Kiarash
K