Association of Polymorphisms in DAZL Gene with Male Infertility.

Objectives: To investigate the association between A260G (Thr12Ala) and A386G (Thr54Ala) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in deleted in azoospermia-like gene (DAZL) and infertility in Jordanian males. Methods: Infertile 170 patients with azoospermia or oligozoospermia and 176 fertile subjects were recruited in the study. DAZL SNPs were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP). Results: The data showed that the A260G SNP is common in the Jordanian population with frequency of 10.3% for 260G mutant allele. However, the A386G SNP is absent in the studied population. No significant association was found between the examined SNPs in DAZL gene and men infertility. Conclusion: The A260G and A386G polymorphisms of DAZL seem to play no role in men infertility in Jordanian population.

Effects of sodium azide and trifluoperazine on growth, development and monolayer cell differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum.

The effects of sodium azide and trifluoperazine on growth, cAMP-chemotaxis, morphogenesis and cell differentiation in the slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum were examined. Growth rate of cells pretreated with low chemical concentrations was reduced directly after the treatment but was partially recovered within two to three hours. The levels of growth inhibition were directly proportional to the chemical concentrations. Low concentrations of trifluoperazine (1 μΜ) had no clear effect on the morphogenesis of the wild type strain HM27, but induced partial phenotype correction in the final fruiting body of the sporogenous mutant HM28. On the other hand, all relatively non toxic treatments with sodium azide had no effect on morphogenesis of both strains and on cell differentiation of the wild type strain HM27. Both trifluoperazine and sodium azide shifted cell differentiation of the sporogenous mutant HM28 in monolayers from spore- to stalk-pathway. Higher concentrations of both chemicals inhibited cell differentiation in all strains completely. The results indicated that these chemicals influenced the effects of the sporogenous locus which plays a role in the spore/stalk determination mechanism in the sporogenous mutant HM28.