MicroRNAs in seminal plasma: an update / 中华男科学杂志

ABSTRACT

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), present abundantly in human body fluids, may serve as biomarkers for the diagnosis of a variety of diseases. Recent studies show that they are also abundantly and stably expressed in the seminal plasma of men. Some seminal plasma-specific miRNAs can be used as potential markers for forensic body fluid identification. Furthermore, the expression profile of seminal plasma miRNAs in normal fertile men is quite different from that in idiopathic infertile patients. The specifically altered profile of seminal plasma miRNA is closely related with male infertility and spermatogenic dysfunction and therefore can be used as a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of male infertility. A deeper insight into the specific changes of seminal miRNA may point a new direction in the studies of the molecular mechanisms of male infertility.