Association of Y chromosome AZF region microdeletions with recurrent miscarriage in Iranian couples: A case-control study

BACKGROUND

Recent studies have linked recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) to abnormalities in the sperm genome, specifically microdeletions in the azoospermia factor (AZF) region. This study investigated the potential association between Y chromosome microdeletions in the AZF region and RPL in Iranian couples.

METHODS

The research presents a case-control study of 240 men: 120 whose partners experienced recurrent miscarriage, and 120 who had successful pregnancies without history of miscarriage. The study used semen parameters, hormone analyses, and microdeletion analysis via multiplex PCR and the YChromStrip kit. Thus, the sequence-tagged site (STS) markers of AZFa (sY84, sY86), AZFb (sY127, sY134), and AZFc (sY254, sY255) regions were examined.

RESULTS

The variations in semen parameters and sex hormone levels between cases and controls are suggest impaired testicular function in men whose partners had recurrent miscarriages (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the study revealed a negative correlation between sperm count and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level, and a positive one between sperm motility and testosterone concentration. There were no microdeletions in the control group, while the RPL group showed 20 deletions in AZFb (sY134) (16.66%) and 10 deletions each in AZFb (sY127) (8.33%) and AZFc (sY254) (8.33%).

CONCLUSION

Microdeletions in sY134 (AZFb) were significantly associated with RPL in Iranian men (p = 0.03). AZF microdeletion screening in couples with RPL can provide valuable information for ethnical genetic counseling and management of recurrent miscarriage. Further studies on larger populations or across various ethnic groups, conclusions and the inclusion of other factors like epigenetic changes explain the role of AZF microdeletions in RPL.

Is the Inflammasome Pathway Active in the Peripheral Blood of Sulfur Mustard-exposed Patients?

The mustard lung is a late consequence of exposure to sulfur mustard (SM) in veterans who had participated in the Iraq-Iran war. Three mechanisms are contributed in the pathogenesis of mustard lung including oxidative stress, protease-antiprotease imbalance, and dysregulated immune response. In the context of the immune response, the role of the inflammasome complex and their inflammatory cytokines are important. This study aims to investigate the inflammasome pathway and their inflammatory cytokine (i.e IL-1 and IL-18) in the peripheral blood of mustard lung patients as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. This research was conducted as a cross-sectional analytical study on 15 SM patients and was compared with 15 COPD patients and 15 healthy controls. The real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to assess gene expression levels of inflammasome components (NLRP1, NLRP3, NLRC4, and ASC), inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-18, and IL-1βR), and IL-37 as an anti-inflammatory cytokine. Finally, the data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 software. The gene expression level of molecules involved in inflammasome pathway showed a slight increase in the peripheral blood of SM and COPD patients compared to the control group. However, this difference was not statistically significant. Only IL-37 and NLRP1 had a significant increase in mustard lung and COPD patients; compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). Due to the normal expression of genes involved in the inflammasome pathway, it can be stated that the inflammasome pathway is not active in the blood of mustard lung patients.