overexpression in men with nonobstructive azoospermia: A case-control study.

BACKGROUND

The role of and its downstream genes in male fertility has been approved in animal models. Additionally, the expression shrinkage of is significantly correlated with human azoospermia phenotype. Aberrant expression of micro-RNAs could mislead spermatogenesis and mostly lead to diverse phenotypes of male infertility.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression level of in azoospermic men to reveal its possible association with infertility.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This case-control study was conducted on 30 azoospermic men, of whom, 19 had non obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and 11 obstructive azoospermia (OA) according to the pathological examinations. Comprehensive bioinformatics investigations were performed securely and was selected afterward. Reverse Transcriptase-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) method was used and statistical analysis was performed to compare the expression level of in both OA and NOA individuals.

RESULTS

In silico analysis suggested , with its potential binding ability to target transcripts. The expression analysis of candidate indicated its significant overexpression in NOA men.

CONCLUSION

The was overexpressed in NOA men compared to OA-control individuals. As a consequence, the overexpressed micro-RNA could downregulate directly and indirectly and . Therefore, spermatogenesis could be misled and male infertility could be developed.