BACKGROUND Wide range of disorders ranging from genetic disorders to coital difficulties can influence male fertility. In this regard, genetic factors are highlighted as the most frequent, contributed to 10-15%, of male infertility causes. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of genetic abnormalities on semen quality and reproductive hormone levels of infertile men from Northeast China. M...

BACKGROUND To compare the frequency of Y-chromosome microdeletions in Japanese and African azoospermic and oligozoospermic men and describe embryo characteristics and reproductive outcome following in vitro fertilization (IVF) with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). METHODS Our study was performed prospectively at two centers, a private IVF clinic and a university hospital. Japanese and...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Analysis of the microdeletions in the azoospermia factor (AZF) region of Y chromosome by PCR is an important screening tool in the work-up of infertile males opting for assisted reproductive techniques. In the present study, the Y chromosome microdeletions were analyzed by PCR using primers corresponding to 16 sequence tagged sites (STS) and three genes of the AZF region ...

S. latifolia is a dioecious plant with morphologically distinct sex chromosomes. To genetically map the sex determination loci on the male-specific Y chromosome, we identified X-ray-induced sex determination mutants that had lost male traits. We used male-specific AFLP markers to characterize the extent of deletions in the Y chromosomes of the mutants. We then compared overlapping deletions to ...

it is now agreed that 10-25% of infertile men with azoospermia have submicroscopic deletions of the y chromosome long ann (yq), consistent with the proposed location of the azoospermia locus (azf) in yq 11.23. however, it is not known whether yq microdeletions are unique to men with azoospermia or whether they are also observed in infertile men with less severe defects of spermatogenesis (oligo...

AZF deletions are genomic deletions in the euchromatic part of the long arm of the human Y chromosome (Yq11) associated with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia. Consequently, it can be assumed that these deletions remove Y chromosomal genes required for spermatogenesis. However, these 'classical' or 'complete' AZF deletions, AZFa, AZFb and AZFc, represent only a subset of rearrangements in Y...

INTRODUCTION Although assisted reproduction techniques are used extensively in Iran, screening for Y chromosome microdeletions before intracytoplasmic sperm injection is often undervalued. Our aim was to investigate Y chromosome microdeletions in men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligospermia. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 99 selected patients with azoospermia or severe oligospermia and el...

We have developed a rapid screening protocol for deletion analysis of the complete AZFa sequence (i.e. 792 kb) on the Y chromosome of patients with idiopathic Sertoli-cell-only (SCO) syndrome. This Y deletion was mapped earlier in proximal Yq11 and first found in the Y chromosome of the SCO patient JOLAR, now designated as the AZFa reference patient. We now show that similar AZFa deletions occu...

OBJECTIVE To test the diagnostic efficiency of a gene-specific, five-marker screening strategy for the detection of Y chromosome deletions. DESIGN Prospective case study. SETTING University genetics laboratory and reproductive clinics. PATIENT(S) Six hundred twenty-seven infertile men and 212 fertile men. INTERVENTION(S) Peripheral blood samples were screened for Y chromosome deletions ...