Investigating the expression of IFT122 and ENTPD4 genes in men with Asthenozoospermia

Asthenozoospermia is one of the major causes of male infertility, the motility of the sperm is decreased or absent in these men. Male infertility occurs in approximately 50% of infertile couples and among the many genetic causes of infertility, we can mention cytogenetic abnormalities, gene defects, and epigenetic factors. The aberrant mRNA expression of some genes can also impair sperm motility. This research aims to study the difference in expression of the Intraflagellar transport 122 gene (IFT122) and the Ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 4 gene (ENTPD4) in the semen sample of 20 infertile men with asthenozoospermia and 10 healthy normozoospermic men with Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results demonstrated that the expression level of the ENTPD4 gene increased (p = 0.01) and the IFT122 gene decreased significantly (p = 0.0001) in the asthenozoospermia group in comparison with the control group. The IFT122 gene plays a role in the assembly and maintenance of flagella, and the ENTPD4 gene hydrolyzes triphosphate nucleotides to diphosphate and monophosphate in energy metabolism. The current study emphases their importance in male infertility mechanism.