RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether defective cyclic adenosine monophosphate responsive element modulator (CREM) expression is the causative factor of spermatid maturation arrest (SMA). DESIGN: Comparative evaluation of the testicular histology in patients with SMA or normal spermatogenesis. SETTING: University clinic of andrology. PATIENT(S): Azoospermic patients undergoing testicular biopsy. INTERVENTION(S): None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Expression of CREMtau in quantitative immunohistochemistry analysis of testicular biopsy samples. RESULT(S): Regular CREM expression was observed in the tubules with round, but not elongated, spermatids of patients with SMA (n = 9). Quantitative analysis showed that round spermatids of patients with SMA had a staining intensity similar to that observed in controls (n = 7). CONCLUSION(S): Lack of spermatid elongation was not due to defective CREM expression. Therefore, CREM did not play a pathogenetic role in the onset of SMA in humans.
