Seminal Fluid Metabolomic Markers of Oligozoospermic Infertility in Humans

Infertility affects 12–15% of couples worldwide, and male factors are the cause of nearly half of all cases. Studying seminal fluid composition could lead to additional diagnostic accuracy and a better understanding of the pathophysiology of male factor infertility. Metabolomics offers a new opportunity to evaluate biomarkers and better understand pathological mechanisms. The aim of the study was to identify new markers or therapeutic targets to improve outcomes in male factor or idiopathic infertility patients. Semen samples were obtained from 29 men with a normal spermogram test, and from 18 oligozoospermic men. Samples were processed and analyzed by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy and, subsequently, multivariate and univariate statistical analyses. Receiving Operator Curves (ROC) and Spearman correlations were also performed. An Orthogonal Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis supervised multivariate model was devised to compare the groups. The levels of fructose, myo-inositol, aspartate and choline were altered. Moreover, Spearman Correlation associated fructose, aspartate and myo-inositol with the total amount of spermatozoa, total motile spermatozoa, % of immotility and % of “in situ” spermatozoic motility respectively. NMR-based metabolomics allowed the identification of a specific metabolic fingerprint of the seminal fluids of patients affected by oligozoospermia.

Triplet-primed PCR is more sensitive than southern blotting-long PCR for the diagnosis of myotonic dystrophy type1

Genetic testing of myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is very important because it enables the diagnosis and indicates the severity of the disease. Mutation analysis is based on the detection of the number of CTG triplets in the 3' untranslated region of the myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) gene. Sometimes it could be complicated by the presence of different patterns of repeat interruptions in the 5' and 3' ends of the expanded alleles recently described in about 3% to 5% of patients. To make molecular diagnosis easier and faster, the use of triplet-primed PCR (TP-PCR) for the detection of expansions in DM1 and other dynamic mutation diseases was proposed. Here we present the results of a retrospective study performed by TP-PCR on 100 subjects previously analyzed by Southern blotting-long PCR.

A new deletion in 5'-end of dystrophin gene removing M and P promoters and dystrophin muscle enhancers

We describe a 3-year-old boy who, at age of 8 months, during investigations for upper respiratory tract infection was found to have an incidental grossly elevated CK of 20,000 UI/l. Investigations showed only mild calf hypertrophy and absent Gower's sign, normal cognitive function. Electromyography (EMG) showed myopathic features. Electrocardiography and echocardiography were normal. His muscle biopsy revealed myopathic features indicating Duchenne-type dystrophy. Immunohistochemistry for dystrophin N-terminal, C-terminal and mid-rod antibodies analysis showed the complete absence of dystrophin in the muscle fibers. Genetic studies showed a 141.1 Kb deletion removing muscle promoter, muscle exon 1, Purkinje promoter, Purkinje exon 1, dystrophin muscle enhancers similar to one previously reported in a DMD patient who exhibited some residual expression of dystrophin. The difference in dystrophin expression between these two patients might be due to the extension of deletions. The precise delimitation of the macrodeletion here described provides a better understanding of functional organization of the 5' end of the DMD gene.