Abstract
The azoospermia factor c (AZFc) region of the Y chromosome consists of repetitive amplicons and is therefore highly susceptible to structural rearrangements, such as deletions and duplications. The b2/b3 deletion is a partial AZFc deletion that is conventionally determined by the selective absence of sY1191 in sequence-tagged site polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and is generally believed to retain two of the four deleted in azoospermia (DAZ) genes on the Y chromosome. In the present study we determined the copy number and expression of DAZ genes in sY1191-negative individuals. Using a DAZ dosage PCR assay and Southern blot analysis we evaluated the expression of four DAZ genes in five of six sY1191-negative individuals. Furthermore, cloning and immunoblot analyses revealed that three or more DAZ genes are expressed in sY1191-negative testes with germ cells. The results indicate that the selective absence of sY1191 not only means b2/b3 deletion with two DAZ genes, but also includes another AZFc configuration with four DAZ genes. These results exemplify the prevalence of variations in the AZFc region of the human Y chromosome.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 307-315 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Reproduction, Fertility and Development |
Volume | 26 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2014 |
Keywords
- Male infertility
- Microdeletion
- Testis