The association between variants in the CFTR gene and nonobstructive male infertility: A meta-analysis

The association of genetic variants and congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens (CBAVD) has been well acknowledged. By contrast, the link between nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) or oligospermia and alterations in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductive regulator (CFTR) remains inconclusive. To clarify the problem, a meta-analysis was performed out after systematically searching Pubmed, Web of Science, Embase and the Chinese national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI) database. As we know, the ∆F508 and IVS8-5T gene mutations are the most studied genetic variants in CFTR gene. We reviewed the data from male patients who underwent the aforementioned genetic test. Our study revealed that the IVS8-5T mutation may be positively associated with the risk of nonobstructive male infertility (odds ratio (OR) 1.69; 95% CI: 1.12-2.55). This association strengthened when concerning NOA (OR: 2.62; 95% CI: 1.49-4.61). However, the ∆F508 mutation seemed to be a smaller contributing factor to this risk (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 0.86-3.08). Our study aims to clarify the association between the ∆F508 and IVS8-5T gene mutations and nonobstructive male infertility. Therefore, screening for the IVS8-5T mutation in the CFTR gene may be recommended for men with NOA or severe oligozoospermia seeking assisted reproductive technology (ART).