Transcriptomics and oxidative stress in male infertility

Abstract

The transcriptome is the full set of coding and noncoding RNAs that are transcribed at a specific developmental stage and/or are present at various physiological conditions within a cell type and/or tissue. Transcriptomic studies have been carried out to characterize new biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment of male infertility, and transcriptome profiles of testis, semen, and spermatozoa from infertile men with different pathologies and conditions such as Klinefelter syndrome, Y chromosome microdeletions, varicocele, and leukocytospermia have been elucidated. Male factor infertility has different etiologies including congenital abnormalities, sexual dysfunction, genetic causes, testicular damage, hypogonadism, oncological diseases, and reproductive tract obstruction. However, the known reasons are inadequate to clarify the underlying mechanisms of idiopathic infertility cases comprising 30%-40% of infertile men. Transcriptomic analyses have revealed differences in the expression and regulation of genes involved in reproduction, development, DNA repair, and oxidative stress (OS) between fertile and infertile men with or without OS. Moreover, alterations in OS responses and reductions in certain miRNAs levels in semen of infertile men with OS have been revealed. This chapter highlights current findings on the impacts of OS on male infertility and the associations between transcriptomics and infertility in males. Methods for the transcriptomic analyses are also discussed. Finally, recent transcriptomic studies on male infertility with OS are summarized. © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.