Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran.
Mol Biol Rep. 2022 Oct;49(10):9365-9372. doi: 10.1007/s11033-022-07787-2. Epub 2022 Aug 12.
Numerous pieces of evidence show that many environmental and genetic factors can cause male infertility. Much research in recent years has investigated the function of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in fertility. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the expression of Dynein Axonemal Heavy Chain 5 (DNAH5) as a gene that plays an essential role in sperm motility in individuals with asthenozoospermia and terato-asthenozoospermia. Alterations in linc02220 expression (located close to the DNAH5 gene), its action potential in DNAH5 regulating, and the correlation between their expression and normal sperm morphology and motility were also examined.
This study examined the semen of 31 asthenozoospermia individuals (AZ), 33 terato-asthenozoospermia (TAZ) individuals, and 33 normospermia (NZ) individuals with normal sperm as a control group. The expression levels of DNAH5 and linc02220 in the sperm samples were analyzed by real-time PCR.
Gene expression analysis revealed a significant association between DNAH5 expression and sperm motility and morphology (p < 0.0001). The DNAH5 expression levels in the TAZ and AZ groups were also significantly reduced; however, linc02220 was significantly upregulated in both TAZ and AZ groups compared to the NZ group (p < 0.0001). DNAH5 expression in the TAZ and AZ groups was negatively correlated with linc02220 expression, thus, DNAH5 downregulation was associated with linc02220 overexpression (p < 0.05).
The gene linc02220 could be a potential regulatory target for DNAH5, and both could affect sperm's normal motility and morphology.
大量证据表明，许多环境和遗传因素都会导致男性不育。近年来，许多研究都探讨了长链非编码 RNA（lncRNA）在生育中的作用。本研究的主要目的是研究在弱精子症和畸形精子症患者中，作为精子运动所必需基因的轴丝动力蛋白重链 5（DNAH5）的表达情况。还研究了 linc02220 表达的改变（位于 DNAH5 基因附近）、其对 DNAH5 调节的作用潜能，以及它们的表达与正常精子形态和运动之间的相关性。
本研究检查了 31 名弱精子症患者（AZ）、33 名畸形精子症患者（TAZ）和 33 名正常精子症（NZ）患者的精液。通过实时 PCR 分析精子样本中 DNAH5 和 linc02220 的表达水平。
基因表达分析表明，DNAH5 表达与精子运动和形态之间存在显著相关性（p<0.0001）。TAZ 和 AZ 组的 DNAH5 表达水平也明显降低；然而，与 NZ 组相比，TAZ 和 AZ 组的 linc02220 表达明显上调（p<0.0001）。TAZ 和 AZ 组的 DNAH5 表达与 linc02220 表达呈负相关，因此，DNAH5 下调与 linc02220 过表达相关（p<0.05）。
基因 linc02220 可能是 DNAH5 的潜在调节靶点，两者都可能影响精子的正常运动和形态。
