[Clinical significance and relevant laboratory techniques of detecting azoospermia factors of the Y chromosome].

Microdeletions of the Y chromosome are a most common known genetic cause of spermatogenetic failure in infertile men. Recent studies have revealed the existence of genetic factors in the long arm of the Y chromosome Yq11.23, known as azoospermia factors (AZF), which are further divided into three separate regions including AZFa, AZFb and AZFc. The AZF deletions are due to different recombination between large palindromic sequences during mesophase. Microdeletions of different AZF regions cause different degrees of spermatogenic impairment. The present paper reviews the clinical significance and relevant laboratory techniques of detecting AZF of the Y chromosome.