Altered Methyltransferase Gene Expression, MitochondrialCopy Number, and ۴۹۷۷-bp Common Deletion inSubfertile Men with Variable Sperm Parameters

Background: Semen parameters have been found to poorlypredict reproductive success yet are the mos t prevalent diagnostic tool for male infertility. There are few but conflicting reports regarding the correlation of DNMT genes expression,mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), and deletion(mtDNAdel) with different sperm parameters.Materials and Methods: Semen samples from ۳۰ men withunknown male infertility and normal sperm parameters (experimentalgroup I), ۳۰ infertile patients with at leas t two abnormalsperm parameters (experimental group II), and ۳۰ fertile normozoospermicmen (control group) were collected. After semenanalysis, total RNA and DNA were extracted. The isolatedDNA was used for assessing the respective mtDNAcn and thepresence of common ۴۹۷۷bp deletion in mtDNA by applyingreal-time quantitative PCR and multiplex PCR, respectively.Synthesized cDNA from total RNAs used to quantify DNMT۱,DNMT۳A, and DNMT۳B transcripts in s tudy groups by usingreal-time quantitative reverse-transcription PCR.Results: Significantly higher proportions of mtDNAcn werefound in experimental group II. DNMT۱ was significantlydownregulated in both experimental groups and ۴۹۷۷bp deletionwas not detected. Progressive motility and normal morphologywere significantly and negatively correlated with mtDNAcn.A significant positive correlation was detected betweensperm parameters and DNMT۱ mRNA levels.Conclusion: Infertile men with different sperm parameterqualities showed elevated mtDNA content. Abnormal spermparameters are associated with DNMT۱ gene expression, thatindicates the possibility of changes in some epigenetic aspectsof spermatogenesis in subfertile men with different sperm parameters.

کلیدواژه ها:

Methyltransferase ، Mitochondrial DNA Content ، Sperm ، Transcript