background: while multiple factors can contribute to male infertility, genetic factors, such as chromosomal disorders or y-chromosome microdeletion, are responsible for about 10% of male infertility. considering the role of y-chromosome microdeletions in men with oligozoospermia who volunteer for in vitro fertilization (ivf), the prevalence of such microdeletions in each particular community ne...

Genomic imprinting marks in the male germ line are already established in the adult germinal stem cell population. We studied the methylation patterns of H19 and MEST imprinted genes in sperm of control and oligozoospermic patients, by bisulphite genomic sequencing. We here report that 7 out of 15 (46.7%) patients with a sperm count below 10 x 10(6)/ml display defective methylation of H19 and/o...

BACKGROUND Abnormal germline DNA methylation in males has been proposed as a possible mechanism compromising spermatogenesis of some men currently diagnosed with idiopathic infertility. Previous studies have been focused on imprinted genes with DNA methylation in poor quality human sperms. However, recent but limited data have revealed that sperm methylation abnormalities may involve large numb...

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the frequency and nature of mutations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene in infertile patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection. A total of 90 patients were screened for a panel of 10 mutations in the CFTR gene frequently involved in congenital absence of the vas deferens (CAVD); the patients included 14...

BACKGROUND Various frequencies of sperm aneuploidy are reported in sperms of subfertile patients compared to normal individuals. Moreover, sperm DNA damage is shown to be associated with male infertility. In this study, the rate of DNA damage and frequencies of aneuploidy in sperms of subfertile patients was investigated. METHODS Semen samples were obtained from healthy normal and subfertile ...

CD52 is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored glycoprotein secreted by the epididymis where it is incorporated into sperm membranes. The antigen is common to spermatozoa and lymphocytes, and its role is not known. Quantitative analysis using immunostaining with the monoclonal antibody CAMPATH-1G and flow cytometry indicated positive signals from approximately 80% of viable, washed ejaculated ...

Chronic epididymitis is amongst the leading causes of male infertility. The main clinical manifestations of chronic epididymitis included oligozoospermia and asthenospermia. Our previous studies showed that over-expression of dendritic cells (DCs) and secreting cytokines were found in chronically inflamed human epididymis. They were thought to play a key role in the immune response of chronic e...

Cells isolated from the ejaculates of a high proportion of patients exhibiting oligozoospermia are characterized by generation rates of reactive oxygen species that considerably exceed those obtained for the normal fertile population. The purpose of this study was to resolve the cellular source of this enhanced activity. Semen samples from a cohort of oligozoospermic patients and a group of fer...

BACKGROUND While multiple factors can contribute to male infertility, genetic factors, such as chromosomal disorders or Y-chromosome microdeletion, are responsible for about 10% of male infertility. Considering the role of Y-chromosome micro-deletions in men with oligozoospermia who volunteer for in vitro fertilization (IVF), the prevalence of such microdeletions in each particular community ne...