RESUMEN
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. 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. 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. 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