The role of expression level of protamines and sperm chromatin packaging quality in oligozoospermia
HONG Dan1, LOU Zhefeng1, ZHENG Jiujia2, HUANG Xuefeng2, JIN Longjin1
1.School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Science, Wenzhou Medical University, Key Laboratory Medicine, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Medical Genetics, Wenzhou, 325035; 2.Reproductive Medicine Center, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, 325015
HONG Dan,LOU Zhefeng,ZHENG Jiujia, et al. The role of expression level of protamines and sperm chromatin packaging quality in oligozoospermia[J]. JOURNAL OF WEZHOU MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, 2018, 48(4): 271-274.
Abstract:Objective: To investigate the correlation between mRNA transcription level of protamines (PRM1 and PRM2) in oligozoospermia. Methods: Sperm samples were recruited following WHO criteria and further collected from oligozoospermia patients (28 cases), teratozoospermia (16 cases) and healthy volunteers (15 cases) respectively. The mRNA transcriptions of PRM1, PRM2 and TRF2 in sperm were detected by RT-qPCR. The quantification of sperm chromatin packaging quality was performed by CMA3 staining. Results: Compared with control group, mRNA transcription levels of PRM1 and PRM2 in oligozoospermia group were significantly decreased 4 folds and 5 folds respectively. However, there’s no significant difference in mRNA transcription of PRM1 and PRM2 between teratozoospermia and control groups, or TRF2 between oligozoospermia and control groups, or TRF2 between teratozoospermia and control groups. Elvated CMA3 positive cells were only observed in oligozoospermia samples, compared with teratozoospermia and control samples. Conclusion: PRM1 and PRM2 are critical for maintaining high level of sperm counts. Decreased expression of PRM1 and PRM2 may cause sperm chromatin packaging dysfunction, which can further suppress spermiogenesis.
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