title: Polymorphisms in estrogen receptor-α are associated with idiopathic female infertility.
abstract: To investigate the relationship between polymorphisms in the estrogen receptor-α (ERα) gene and unexplained female infertility, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of ERα was employed in 150 females with idiopathic infertility (study group) and 150 healthy, age-matched females of proven fertility (control group). The results showed that the ERα allele frequencies differed significantly between the study and control groups (P=0.001). The allele identified by PvuII (P) restriction was detected more frequently in the study group (49.0% of individuals) compared to the control group (31.0%; P=0.001), while the allele identified by XbaI (X) restriction was detected less frequently in the study group (19.7%) compared to the control group (35.7%, P=0.001). A similar phenomenon was observed for the distribution of the TA alleles. The TA13 allele was more common in the study group (24.7 vs. 6.7% in controls; P=0.001), while the TA15 allele was less common in the study group (15.3 vs. 27.3% in controls; P=0.034). To conclude, polymorphisms in the ERα gene are associated with idiopathic female infertility. In particular, the P and TA13 alleles may represent significant risk factors, while the X and TA15 alleles may be protective factors.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, Anhui 232001, PR China. djwdxswy@126.com
authors.forename: Jiu-Wei
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Xin-Rong
authors.initials: XR
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Ke-Yi
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Li-Yi
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Xin-Lan
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Qi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000483:Alleles; D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D047628:Estrogen Receptor alpha