Embryo outcome in Y‐chromosome microdeleted infertile males after ICSI

A prospective study involving 118 infertile Japanese couples to assess the embryo outcomes in both azoospermic and oligoasthenoteratoazoospermic (OAT) patients with Y‐chromosome microdeletion. The men were divided into two groups; azoospermia (n = 27), and OAT, sperm concentration <5 × 10 6 /ml (n = 91). They were investigated for Y‐chromosome microdeletions by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the Y‐chromosome‐specific sequence tag site (STS). The embryo outcomes of patients found to have Y‐microdeletion were determined. The frequency of microdeletion was 8.8% (9) and two had microdeletions distal to DAZ. The mean fertilization rate and the cleavage rate in the eight cycles of both azoospermic and oligospermic patients were 59.3 and 87.5%, respectively. The percentages of grade 1 & 2 embryos, ≥6 cells embryos, and blastocyts were 51.7, 65.6, and 45.3%, respectively. Three pregnancies resulted from the eight cycles (37.5%). Conclusion: in Y‐chromosome microdeletion cycles in which sperm cells were available for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), embryo outcome was comparable to conventional IVF. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 68: 176–181, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.