Hekim Neslihan, Gunes Sezgin, Ayas Bulent, Alkan Elzem Nisa
Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Department of Molecular Medicine, Graduate Institute, Ondokuz Mayis University, Samsun, Turkey.
Basic Clin Androl. 2025 Sep 1;35(1):33. doi: 10.1186/s12610-025-00283-0.
Epigenetic mechanisms influencing sperm production and function are closely linked to male infertility. Among these, tRNA-derived fragments have recently been identified as important modulators of cellular stress responses and gene expression. The purpose of this study was evaluate the potential role of 5'tRF-Glu-CTC in the context of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) outcomes by comparing its differential expression in the seminal plasma of oligozoospermic and normozoospermic infertile men.
Total RNA was extracted from seminal plasma, and 5'tRF-Glu-CTC expression was measured by qRT-PCR. Sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) was assessed via the TUNEL assay. The results revealed significantly elevated 5'tRF-Glu-CTC expression in the oligozoospermic group compared to the normozoospermic group (15.58 ± 4.34 vs. 12.53 ± 4.99; fold change: 1.692; P = 0.024). Sperm DFI showed a significant negative correlation with both the progressive motile sperm (ρ = -0.537, P = 0.015) and the total progressive motile sperm count (ρ = -0.509, P = 0.026). However no significant differences in DFI was observed between the oligozoospermic and control groups (P > 0.05). Analysis of ART outcomes revealed that male partners of couples who achieved pregnancy had lower mean 5'tRF-Glu-CTC expression and DFI, although these differences did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05).
These results suggest that 5'tRF-Glu-CTC might be serve as a potential biomarker and could play a role in the pathophysiology of oligozoospermia.
影响精子生成和功能的表观遗传机制与男性不育密切相关。其中，tRNA衍生片段最近被确定为细胞应激反应和基因表达的重要调节因子。本研究的目的是通过比较少精子症和正常精子症不育男性精液中5'tRF-Glu-CTC的差异表达，评估其在辅助生殖技术（ART）结局中的潜在作用。
从精液中提取总RNA，通过qRT-PCR检测5'tRF-Glu-CTC的表达。通过TUNEL检测评估精子DNA碎片化指数（DFI）。结果显示，与正常精子症组相比，少精子症组中5'tRF-Glu-CTC的表达显著升高（15.58±4.34 vs. 12.53±4.99；倍数变化：1.692；P = 0.024）。精子DFI与进行性运动精子（ρ = -0.537，P = 0.015）和总进行性运动精子计数（ρ = -0.509，P = 0.026）均呈显著负相关。然而，少精子症组和对照组之间的DFI没有显著差异（P>0.05）。对ART结局的分析表明，成功怀孕夫妇的男性伴侣的5'tRF-Glu-CTC平均表达和DFI较低，尽管这些差异没有达到统计学意义（P>0.05）。
这些结果表明，5'tRF-Glu-CTC可能作为一种潜在的生物标志物，并可能在少精子症的病理生理学中发挥作用。
