Prevalence of male subfertility ? Prevalence of Y chromosome micro deletion amongst azospermic men,

Prevalence of male subfertility ? Infertility is defined as failure to conceive after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse .This problem affects approximately 10%–15% of couples worldwide, and male-related factors are responsible for half of this case . Several factors have been implicated in male infertility such as  Cause :1) hormonal abnormalities, Cause :2 ) erectile dysfunction, Cause :3) infections, Cause :4 )  antisperm antibodies, Cause :5) exposure to chemical agents and radiations, Cause :6)  testicular cancer, Cause :7) varicocele, Cause :8) genetic factors, and Cause :9) others .Thus, male infertility is a multifactorial syndrome encompassing a wide variety of disorders. However, in about 30%–50% of male cases, the etiology of infertility is still unknown.

Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS), maturation arrest, and hypospermatogenesis à The main culprit is “Microdeletion of the azoospermia factor (AZF) region located on the long arm of the Y chromosome (Yq11)”. This is  considered the most common genetic cause of male infertility .The AZF region is divided into three nonoverlapping subregions called AZFa, AZFb, and AZFc, all of which are required for normal spermatogenesis. Microdeletions in these three regions are associated with various spermatogenetic alterations including Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS), maturation arrest, and hypospermatogenesis. Specifically, microdeletion of AZFa is relevant to complete SCOS and azoospermia. The absence of AZFb is associated with maturation arrest at meiosis, whereas microdeletion of AZFc results in variable clinical and histologic phenotypes, ranging from oligozoospermia to SCOS Extensive studies have been carried on Y microdeletions in non-obstructive azoospermic and severely oligozoospermic patients, with a reported incidence ranging from 3% to 28% Therefore, disruption of AZF can be viewed as the most common molecularly diagnosable cause of spermatogenic failure in the setting of non-obstructive azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia Recently, the techniques of testicular sperm extraction (TESE) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) have made it possible to help men with azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia to achieve successful fertilizations and pregnancies .However, Y microdeletions can be transmitted from infertile fathers to their male offspring, who could also experience infertility, through the procedure of ICSI. Thus, it is important to evaluate Y microdeletions in male infertility before assisted reproduction in order to provide appropriate information to patients.

Y chromosome microdeletions can be detected by using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in infertile men. Moreover, the relationship between the levels of reproductive hormones and Y chromosome microdeletions has to be analyzed.