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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on March 3, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(7):1791-1794; doi:10.1093/humrep/del055
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Oligozoospermia and heat-shock protein expression in ejaculated spermatozoa

A.P. Cedenho 1 , S.B. Lima 1 , 4 , M.A. Cenedeze 2 , D.M. Spaine 1 , V. Ortiz 1 and S. Oehninger 3

1 Department of Surgery, Division of Urology 2 Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, São Paulo Federal University, Sao Paulo, Brazil and 3 The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Norfolk, VA, USA

4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Rua Leandro Dupret, 204 cj 43, 04025-010 São Paulo, SP, Brazil. E-mail: samirabl{at}uol.com.br

BACKGROUND: Heat-shock protein A2 (HspA2) is correlated with sperm maturity, function and fertility, and a dysfunctional expression of such a gene results in abnormal spermatogenesis. The purpose of this study was to compare HspA2 gene expression in spermatozoa from oligozoospermic men and normozoospermic controls. METHODS: Semen was obtained and analysed according to World Health Organization (World Health Organization, 1999) guidelines, morphology by Kruger’s strict criteria. Seventeen patients with oligozoospermia and 21 fertile controls were studied. Total RNA was extracted from ejaculated and Percoll density-gradient-separated spermatozoa followed by semiquantitative RT–PCR analysis. The relative expression level of HspA2 was analysed according to the expression level of the housekeeping beta-actin gene. Serum hormonal profiles (FSH, LH and testosterone) and a peripheral karyotype were also performed. RESULTS: All patients possessed normal karyotype, and no significant hormonal differences were found between the two groups. The study group had significantly lower sperm concentration and normal morphology than the controls. Semiquantitative RT–PCR analysis of HspA2 showed significantly lower expression levels in the oligoteratozoospermic men when compared to controls (P = 0.0021). CONCLUSIONS: The HspA2 gene was down-regulated in sperm from infertile men with idiopathic oligoteratozoospermia, suggesting that such anomalies of gene expression might be associated with pathogenesis in some subtypes of male infertility.

Key words: gene expression/HspA2/male infertility/oligozoospermia


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