Open AccessCurrent concepts of human azoospermia and its causes
Author(s) -
Miyamoto Toshinobu,
Tsujimura Akira,
Miyagawa Yasushi,
Koh Eitetsu,
Sato Hisashi,
Namiki Mikio,
Sengoku Kazuo
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
reproductive medicine and biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.005
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1447-0578
pISSN - 1445-5781
DOI - 10.1007/s12522-010-0054-5
Subject(s) - male infertility , azoospermia , autosome , biology , infertility , knockout mouse , genetics , y chromosome , azoospermia factor , spermatogenesis , gene , phenotype , chromosome , bioinformatics , endocrinology , pregnancy
Infertility is a serious social problem in advanced nations today. One of the most important causes is the male factor. Striking progress has been achieved in recent years in elucidating the mechanisms of spermatogenesis in mice by experimental methods represented by the knockout mouse. Although many factors associated with male infertility are known in mice, the translation of this information to people has been slow. This is because the knockout mouse phenotype cannot necessarily be reproduced faithfully in humans. However, it is known that environmental factors, chromosomal defects and several specific gene mutations result in human male infertility. In this review, we first discuss the environmental factors considered likely to be involved in male infertility, and secondly we describe the Y chromosome and several important genes on the Y chromosome that play critical roles in spermatogenesis in humans. Then, we demonstrate the three critical genes identified in our laboratory in autosomes involved in human spermatogenesis, the SYCP3 , MEI1 and PARP ‐ 2 . Finally, we explain the future directionality and possibilities of research in this field.