CYLD Gene Expression as a Molecular Biomarker in Infertile Men with Obstructive and Non-Obstructive Azoospermia: A Comparative Study

Background and objectives: It is widely accepted that estimation of success and risks associated with infertility treatment via TESE method, which involves sperm extraction from the testes, is significantly important. While various studies have assessed the success of this estimation method, carboxyl-terminal hydrolase (CYLD) gene expression has not yet been evaluated as a biomarker. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate CYLD gene expression in infertile men with obstructive and non-obstructive azoospermia (OA and NOA). Materials and methods: Selected by simple random sampling, 30 and 15 men with NOA and OA were allocated to patient and control groups, respectively. After isolating and delivering the sperm to the laboratory for ICSI, the textural residues were used for RNA extraction. In addition, the level of CYLD gene expression was measured in both groups using RT-qPCR method. Moreover, we compared the research groups in terms LH and FSH hormone levels. Data analysis was performed in Graph Pad Prism 7.0 using non-pairing t-test by estimating the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval. Results: While CYLD gene expression decreased in patients, compared to healthy individuals, the difference was not statistically significant. On the other hand, a significant difference was observed between the patient and control group regarding the level of LH and FSH hormones. Conclusion: According to the results, there was an insignificant decrease in the level of CYLD gene expression, which indicated the lack of ability of the gene to predict the success of TESE. Nevertheless, the difference in the LH and FSH hormone levels in the subjects of the control and patient groups demonstrated the possibility of using these hormones to predict the success of TESE.