Differential Genes Expression between Fertile and Infertile Spermatozoa Revealed by Transcriptome Analysis

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Biology
• Genomics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Spermatozoa were previously thought to lack RNA due to minimal cytoplasm.
• Recent findings indicate the presence of approximately 3000 different messenger RNA (mRNA) types in ejaculated spermatozoa.
• The relationship between sperm transcriptome profiles and infertility remains largely uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between sperm RNA transcriptome profiles and male fertility status.
• To identify differentially expressed transcripts in spermatozoa of fertile and infertile men.
• To explore the potential of sperm RNA as biomarkers for fertility assessment.

Main Methods:

• Isolated total RNA from spermatozoa of 60 men (20 fertile, 20 idiopathic infertility, 20 asthenozoospermia).
• Performed RNA quality assessment using Bioanalyzer.
• Utilized AffymetrixGeneChip Human Gene 1.0 ST Array for expression profiling of coding and long non-coding transcripts.

Main Results:

• Identified 2081 differentially expressed transcripts between the groups.
• Observed distinct up-regulation and down-regulation patterns of specific transcripts (e.g., ribosomal proteins, heat shock proteins) in normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic individuals compared to controls.
• Found transcripts related to reproduction (58) and development (210), including testis-specific and Y-chromosome genes, were differentially expressed.

Conclusions:

• Spermatozoa harbor a complex population of coding and non-coding RNAs.
• Differential expression of transcripts involved in cellular processes like reproduction and development was observed between fertile and infertile individuals.
• Sperm RNA exhibits significant potential as a diagnostic marker for male fertility evaluation.