Association between dopamine transporter gene (DAT1/SLC6A3) variants and infertility in the Turkish females

Abstract

Objective Worldwide, approximately 10–15% of couples is affected by infertility and infertility is associated with disturbances in female and/or male reproductive systems. The aim of the current study is to investigate the relationship between DAT1 (SLC6A3) VNTR polymorphism with female infertility. Methods Genomic DNA extractions were performed in 98 fertile and 90 infertile females, 3' untranslated region (3’ UTR) variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorphism of DAT1/SLC6A3 was determined by the use of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method. Results It has been demonstrated that there was no statistically significant difference between female infertile and fertile groups in the terms of DAT1 genotypes (p > .05). Moreover, there was no significant difference regarding the frequencies of 9R and 10R alleles in infertile and fertile groups (p > .05). Conclusion This is the first study for investigating the relationship between DAT1/SLC6A3 gene polymorphism and infertility in females. Our study contributes to the growing awareness of the relationship between dopaminergic system and female infertility despite no significant differences were reported between infertile females and corresponding fertile subjects in DAT1/SLC6A3 gene.