Lessons learned from the exome sequencing of nine cases of infertility and the way forward

How can the effectiveness of exome sequencing be improved for diagnosing infertility, and what are the key challenges and lessons learned from analysing nine unrelated cases?

Nine unrelated infertility cases referred between 2019 and 2024 were analysed in this study. Exome sequencing was conducted on probands and other family members when needed. Sanger sequencing was used for segregation analysis, and consequences on splicing were investigated on mRNA from patient cells and minigene assay.

Nine causative variants were identified, including six novel, in nine genes, TUBB8, PATL2, CCDC39, STAG3, KIAA0319, FBXO43, AGBL5/BBS7, PLCZ1 and HS6ST1, across diverse reproductive phenotypes, including oocyte maturation arrest, early embryonic arrest, spermatogenic failure and syndromic infertility. KIAA0319 was also identified as a novel candidate gene for male infertility.

Variant segregation in family members and the possibility of re-contacting the patients for further evaluations and questions were crucial to maximize diagnostic yield and reach robust conclusions. This study underscores the need for multidisciplinary collaboration between reproductive medicine specialists and geneticists to facilitate the complexity of infertility, improve its diagnostic yield and counsel patients.