To study of apoptotic gene expression through hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal axis in

Abstract

To investigate the apoptotic gene expression of Bcl-2, Cytochrome C, Caspase and procaspase with male hormone profile in infertile subjects for their relationship to sperm quality and cell death parameters. We undertook gene expression on a total of 400 individuals, including 100 fertile donors as controls and three subgroups of infertile men, normozoospermic (idiopathic unexplained; n=100), oligozoospermic (n=100) and asthenozoospermic (n=100). These participants were selected from Departments of Urology, King George’s Medical University, Lucknow, India. We used ELISA, quantitative real time PCR (qPCR) with lightCycler Fast Start DNA PLUS SybrGreen kit for IL-6 and TNF alpha, Bcl-2, Cytochrome C, Caspase and procaspase mRNA and their relation to male fertility. We found decreased sperm motion kinetics and altered male hormone profile was associated with decreased Bcl-2 and procaspase expression and increased of cytochrome c expression was significantly increased in the oligozoospermic and asthenozoospermic infertile subjects compared to healthy fertile subjects. Male hormones, Bcl-2, Cytochrome C and Caspase gene expression were altered in men with impaired fertility possibly via their associations with sperm count, motility and morphology.