Microarray technology offers a novel tool for the diagnosis and identification of therapeutic targets for male infertility

Abstract

Male infertility is now a major reproductive health problem because of an increasing number of environmental pollutants and chemicals, which eventually result in gene mutations. Genetic alterations caused by environmental factors account for a significant percentage of male infertility. Microarray technology is a powerful tool capable of measuring simultaneously the expression of thousands of genes expressed in a single sample. Eventually, advances in genetic technology will allow for the diagnosis of patients with male infertility due to congenital reasons or environmental factors. Since its introduction in 1994, microarray technology has made significant advances in the identification and characterization of novel or known genes possibly correlated with male infertility in mice, as well as in humans. This provides a rational basis for the application of microarray to establishing molecular signatures for the diagnosis and gene therapy targets of male infertility. In this review, the differential gene expression patterns characterized by microarray in germ and somatic cells at different steps of development or in response to stimuli, as well as a number of novel or known genes identified to be associated with male infertility in mice and humans, are addressed. Moreover, issues pertaining to measurement reproducibility are highlighted for the application of microarray data to male infertility.

The genetic causes of male factor infertility: A review

“…Examining the simultaneous expression of genes allows geneticists to determine molecular signatures related to infertile phenotypes (156). Microarray technology is also useful in the examination of spermatogenesis.…”

“…Additionally, microarrays can be used to study the effect of hormones or growth factors on gene expression profiles. In one experiment, T propionate and FSH were administered to mouse testes and the differential expression of genes was measured using microarray analysis (156). Some advantages of using microarrays are that it is a noninvasive test (158) and it is very effective in studying germ cells because they express 4% of the genome (159).…”

Small RNA molecules in the regulation of spermatogenesis

“…Notably, a number of genes, e.g. clusterin, Aard, Akr1b3, Defb19, Itga6, Itgb1, Maged2, Rbm3, and Vim, have been shown to be upregulated in mouse models of male infertility as we summarized in a previous review (He et al 2006). Therefore, it is possible to suppress expression of Small RNAs controlling spermatogenesis diseased gene transcripts among the upregulated genes in vivo by injecting siRNAs or using a DNA vector expressing shRNAs and determine whether the sterility of mice can be rescued after RNAi.…”

The Role of Transcriptomics: Physiological Equivalence Based on Gene Expression Profiles

“…Genome-wide analysis has boosted the biomarker diagnostics industry and contributes to disease subtype classification, disease diagnosis and prognosis, selection of therapeutic treatments, and disease prevention (He et al, 2006;Sun et al, 2013;Su et al, 2014;Aibar et al, 2015).…”