Background The human Y chromosome is essential for human sex determination and male germ cell development and maintenance. In 1996, Vogt et al. identified three recurrently deleted regions in Yq11 termed the azoospermia factor (AZF). The AZF region is subdivided into three non-overlapping sub-regions called AZFa, AZFb and AZFc and microdeletion in these regions is the most important etiology of...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the frequency of azoospermia factor (AZF) deletions in Dutch patients with testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs). Reduced fertility is associated with TGCTs and reduced fertility and TGCTs might share genetic risk factors according to the testicular dysgenesis hypothesis. Up to 8% of infertility and reduced fertility in the general male population can be explained by the...

BACKGROUND Many advances have been made in reproductive medicine, yet the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy remains the most common complication of pregnancy. The aetiology of spontaneous recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is multifactorial. Y chromosome microdeletions are found in ∼7% of men with low sperm counts and, compared with the general population, a higher frequency of spontaneous pregnancy ...

The human Y chromosome harbours genes that are essential for spermatogenesis. Most of these genes lie in the male-specific region (MSY) of Y chromosome. Microdeletions of AZF within the MSY have been reported in infertile men. Widely different frequencies of such deletions (0-55%) have been reported from different populations. TSPY is another gene located in the MSY region that plays a signific...

About 30-40% of male infertility is due to unknown reasons. Genetic contributions to the disruption of spermatogenesis are suggested and amongst the genetic factors studied, Y chromosome microdeletions represent the most common one. Screening for microdeletions in AZFa, b and c region of Y chromosome showed a big variation among different studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate th...

Received: 22 December 2014 Revised: 26 April 2015 Accepted: 12 May 2015 Abstract Background: Infertility is a health problem which affects about 10-20% of married couples. Male factor infertility is involved approximately 50% of infertile couples. Most of male infertility is regarding to deletions in the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. Objective: In this study, the occurrence of delet...

AIM To study the occurrence of Y chromosome microdeletions in azoospermic patients with Klinefelter's syndrome (KFS). METHODS Blood and semen samples were collected from azoospermic patients with KFS (n = 14) and a control group of men of proven fertility (n = 13). Semen analysis was done according to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Blood samples were processed for karyotyping, fl...

BACKGROUND Y chromosome microdeletions are associated with severe male factor infertility. In this study, the success rate of testicular sperm retrieval was determined for men with deletions of AZF regions a, b or c. METHODS AZF deletions were detected by PCR of 30 sequence-tagged sites within Yq emphasizing the AZFa, b and c regions. Semen analysis and diagnostic testis biopsy or testicular ...

BACKGROUND Y-chromosomal microdeletions (YCMD) are one of the major genetic causes for non-obstructive azoospermia. Genetic testing for YCMD by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an established method for quick and robust screening of deletions in the AZF regions of the Y-chromosome. Multiplex PCRs have the advantage of including a control gene in every reaction and significantly redu...

The long arm of the Y chromosome contains nonoverlapping regions termed azoospermia factor (AZF) with great influence on male fertility. Microdeletions at these regions minimise the males' ability to father offsprings. In this preliminary study, we attempted to screen the presence or absence of twenty Y chromosome's sequence-tagged sites (STS) associated with fertility in infertile and Down syn...