Novel single nucleotide polymorphisms of USP26, TEX15 and TNP2 genes in relation to male infertility in North West of Iran

Abstract

ABSTRACT \nBackground: Observational studies that inspected the association between novel single nucleotide polymorphism of USP26, TEX15, and TNP2 to odds of male infertility are sparse. Male infertility prevalence in Iran is reported more than global prevalence, while about 30-50% of them still have no distinct reason and are considered as idiopathic male infertility. This study was conducted to investigate the association of different SNPs of USP26, TEX15, and TNP2 genes with male infertility among the Iranian population. \nMethods: In this population-based case-control study, 120 diagnosed idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligospermia infertile cases in the age range of 25-45 years old, and 120 age-matched fertile controls were recruited. Overall, six different variants from three genes were genotyped including USP26 rs61741870, USP26 rs144039408, TEX15 rs323344, TEX15 rs61732458, TNP2 rs11640138 and TNP2 rs199536093 by using Amplification-refractory mutation system methods. \nResults: Although there were no significant associations between USP26 gene variants (rs61741870 and rs144039408) and men infertility, we found a significant association of TEX15 rs323344 T allele and odds of idiopathic azoospermia compared with recessive allele (OR: 0.259, CI: 0.083-0.811). We have seen significant associations between TEX15 rs61732458 AC as well as CA+AA with male infertility compared with normal homozygote (OR: 3.776, CI: 2.049-6.957; OR: 3.818, CI: 2.077-7.016). This significant association was seen among TNP2 rs199536093 GG genotype and idiopathic azoospermia compared to normal homozygote (OR: 0.348, CI: 0.129-0.939). We also observed heterozygote overdominance in TEX15 rs61732458 and TNP2 rs199536093. \nConclusion: We found novel polymorphisms in relation to male infertility among the Iranian population. However, larger studies are needed to confirm the obtained results.