The Prevalence of Y Chromosome Microdeletions in Iranian Infertile Men with Azoospermia and Severe Oligospermia

Objective: Microdeletions of the Y chromosome long arm are the most common molecular genetic causes of severe infertility in men. They affect three regions including azoospermia factors (AZFa, AZFb and AZFc), which contain various genes involved in spermatogenesis. The aim of the present study was to reveal the patterns of Y chromosome microdeletions in Iranian infertile men referred to Royan Institute with azoospermia/ severe oligospermia. Materials and Methods: Through a cross-sectional study, 1885 infertile men referred to Royan Institute with azoospermia/severe oligospermia were examined for Y chromosome microdeletions from March 2012 to March 2014. We determined microdeletions of the Y chromosome in the AZFa, AZFb and AZFc regions using multiplex Polymerase chain reaction and six different Sequence-Tagged Site (STS) markers. Results: Among the 1885 infertile men, we determined 99 cases of Y chromosome microdeletions (5.2%). Among 99 cases, AZFc microdeletions were found in 70 cases (70.7%); AZFb microdeletions in 5 cases (5%); and AZFa microdeletions in only 3 cases (3%). AZFbc microdeletions were detected in 18 cases (18.1%) and AZFabc microdeletions in 3 cases (3%). Conclusion: Based on these data, our results are in agreement with similar studies from other regions of the world as well as two other recent studies from Iran which have mostly reported a frequency of less than 10% for Y chromosome microdeletions.