The Correlation of DAZ1 Gene Methylation with Azoospermia in Iraqi Infertile Men

Abstract

After about twelve months or maybe more, some people can’t achieve pregnancy. This might be a sign of infertility as a reproductive system disease. The following study was carried out to investigate the DAZ 1 gene methylation level and its association with azoospermia in Iraqi patients. One hundred and fifty human blood samples were collected from from different regions in Baghdad governorate, including (private medicals Labs and the high institute for infertility diagnosis assisted reproductive techniques and Kamal Al- Samara'ay IVF Hospital) from both fertile and infertile men. The control group consists of 50 samples ranging from 22 to 51 years old, while the patient (infertile group) consists of 100 samples ranging between 25 and 51 years old. The differences in the methylation patterns of this gene between patients and controls were included using the HRM-PCR technique. The correlation of age for azoospermia patients compared to controls was studied, and no significant differences were exhibited according to age. Moreover, the results showed a positive methylation pattern with a significant increase in the mean of the methylation level of DAZ 1 in patient groups compared to the corresponding means in the control group (95.16±3.66 vs. 3.56±4.90), respectively. ‎