Relationship between Fas gene polymorphism and idiopathic male infertility

Abstract

Background: Infertility is defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy after one year of unprotected intercourse. A large proportion of infertile men fail to impregnate their female counterpart due to lack of sperm (azoospermia) or too little sperm (oligozoospermia). Infertility may also be due to estrogens, infections, heavy metals, cigarette smoking, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and sperm antibodies. Fas is a member of the TNFR (tumor necrosis factor receptor) family that is widely expressed on the surface of many different kinds of cells. Fas gene is involved in the apoptosis process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of Fas gene polymorphism in male infertility in a population in north of Iran. Methods: This study involved 132 patients with male infertility and 102 healthy controls. DNA samples were extracted from the peripheral blood and genotyped by RFLP-PCR method. Statistical analysis was performed using MedCalc. Results: The frequencies of AA, AG, GG in patients were 31.81%, 54.54% and 13.63%, respectively and in controls were 45.09%, 47.05%, 7.84%, respectively. Conclusion: It is concluded that there is no significant association between Fas-670A/G gene polymorphism and male infertility (p=0.07). Further studies with larger numbers of patients are required to elucidate the potential role of Fas gene polymorphism in male infertility.