ABSTRACT
Identification of molecular markers which can predict the outcome of sperm retrieval non-invasively in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia [NOA] are valuable in clinical andrology. Jumonji domain-containing 1a [JMJD1A] is a significant epigenetic regulator during spermatogenesis, which plays an important role in the differentiation of post-meiotic germ cells into mature spermatozoa. We therefore aimed to examine the potential association between JMJD1A expression and the outcome of sperm retrieval in patients with NOA. Testicular biopsy specimens from 50 NOA patients with either successful sperm retrieval [sperm+, n=22] or failed sperm retrieval [sperm-, n=28] were collected and then examined for JMJD1A expression by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction [RT-qPCR]. In addition, conventional clinical parameters including luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, testosterone, age, and testicular volume were compared between the two NOA groups. The expression of JMJD1A in the sperm+ group was significantly higher than in the sperm- group [P<0.001], however, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in clinical parameters. The receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve of JMJD1A expression in predicting the sperm retrieval outcome showed a sensitivity of 90.91% and a specificity of 89.29% with significant discriminatory ability between the sperm+ and sperm- groups [area under the ROC curve [AUC]= 0.91]. This study demonstrates a significant association between the expression of JMJD1A and the success of sperm recovery in patients with NOA, and thus suggests that JMJD1A expression quantification in testicular biopsies may be a valuable biomarker along with conventional parameters in predicting the presence of spermatozoa
ABSTRACT
Background: The availability of testis specific genes will be of help in choosing the most promising biomarkers for the detection of testicular sperm retrieval in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia [NOA]. Testis specific chromodomain protein Y 1 [CDY1] is a histone acetyltransferase which concentrates in the round spermatid nucleus, where histone hyperacetylation occurs and causes the replacement of histones by the sperm-specific DNA packaging proteins, TNPs and PRMs
Objective: The aim was to evaluate CDY1 gene as a marker for predicting of successful sperm retrieval in NOA patients
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted on 29 patients with NOA who had undergone testicular sperm extraction [TESE] procedure. NOA patients were subdivided into patients with successful sperm retrieval [NOA+, n=12] and patients with unsuccessful sperm retrieval [NOA-, n=17]. Relative expression of CDY1 gene and chromatin incorporation of CDY1 protein were measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction [qRT-PCR] and ELISA assay, respectively
Results: Quantification of mRNA relative expression and incorporation of CDY1 protein in chromatin showed significant lower expressions and protein levels of CDY1 in testis tissues of NOA- in comparison to NOA+ group
Conclusion: The findings in this study demonstrated a correlation between the low levels of CDY1 function and unsuccessful sperm recovery in the testicular tissues of NOA- compared to NOA+ patients. Therefore, it can be reasonable to consider CDY1 as a potential biomarker for predicting the presence of spermatozoa, although the claim needs more samples to be confirmed