Gene expression alterations in testicular biopsies from males with spermatogenesis arrest identified by transcriptome analysis

Abstract

Spermatogenesis is a complex biological process encompasses several stages of cellular divisions, ultimately resulting in producing mature spermatozoa capable of fertilization. Numerous factors involved in the precise regulation of the spermatogenesis, and any disruptions or alterations in these regulatory mechanisms can lead to spermatogenesis arrest, which may result in male infertility. Among these factors, genetic influences play essential role in regulating the process. This study aimed to identify genes that are differentially expressed in relation to spermatogenesis arrest. Testicular biopsy samples were collected from 22 non-obstructive azoospermic patients diagnosed with spermatogenesis arrest (cases) and nine obstructive azoospermic patients (controls). RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed on five samples from the 22 non-obstructive azoospermic patients and compared to previously published transcriptomic data from obstructive azoospermic patients, which served as the control group. Differential expression analysis of the RNA-seq data identified 1,915 differentially expressed genes, comprising 337 upregulated and 1,578 downregulated genes. Among these, several key candidate genes were identified for further analysis, including the upregulation of FOS, FOSB, RGS1, and CXCL8, as well as the downregulation of TNP2, SPRR2C, LINC02314, and C16orf78. RT-qPCR validation confirmed the RNA-seq findings for these genes in the tested samples. Subsequently, RT-qPCR was performed on the remaining 17 non-obstructive (n = 17) and obstructive azoospermic samples (n = 9) collected in this study. The results from these additional samples were consistent with the RNA-seq data, further supporting the findings. Using gene ontology (GO) analysis and published literature, we linked these genes with spermatogenesis arrest, identifying promising targets that could serve as potential biomarkers for this condition in the future.