Introduction. The etiology of male infertility characterized by non-obstructive azoospermia is largely unknown, especially at the molecular level. Identifying dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in male infertility would be useful to achieve a more profound understanding of its pathogenesis. Methods. Small RNA sequencing was performed on the testicular tissues of 10 nonobstructive azoospermic patients with the Sertoli cell only syndrome (SCOS) and 8 obstructive azoospermic individuals with normal spermatogenesis. The expressions of two dysregulated miRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, confirming the results obtained by sequencing analysis. Bioinformatic analysis was undertaken to identify the main pathways impaired in complete spermatogenic failure. Results. A total of 136 miRNAs were detected to be differentially expressed in the Sertoli cell only syndrome group in comparison with the obstructive azoospermia group. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that the altered miRNAs were substantially involved in pathways related to spermatogenesis. Conclusions. Our study investigates the entire profile of miRNAs with emphasis on the crucial role of miRNAs in idiopathic Sertoli cell only syndrome, suggesting potential targets for employing molecular therapeutic strategies in the treatment of spermatogenic failure.

Introduction: MiRNA expression alterations are closely related to growth, proliferation, and cell development. In addition, miR-187 has been found to regulate cellular proliferation. Further, spermatogenesis is a highly complicated process which is regulated through several genes targeted by miRNAs. However, no study has completely addressed the etiology of spermatogenic impairments. Accordingly, the present study examined the expression pattern of Homo sapiens (human) microRNA (hsa-mir-187) in the testicular biopsies of infertile men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and Sertoli cell-only syndrome (SCOS) subtype in comparison with those with obstructive azoospermia (OA). Methods: Quantitative reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis was performed to assess the expression level of hsa-mir-187 using the ΔΔCt method. Results: Our data indicated that hsa-mir-187 was significantly up-regulated in the testis of the SCOS group (P˂ 0.05) in comparison with the OA group. Conclusion: In general, the findings suggest that the differential expression of hsa-mir-187 is linked with male infertility and shed more light on molecular defects that underlie spermatogenic impairments.

Background The etiology of male infertility accompanied by azoospermia is largely unknown especially at the molecular level. Identifying the global expression profile of dysregulated microRNAs (miRNAs) in male infertility would be useful to achieve a more profound understanding of pathogenesis. Methods Small RNA sequencing was performed on testicular tissues of 10 nonobstructive azoospermic patients with Sertoli cell only syndrome (SCOS) and those of 8 obstructive azoospermic individuals. The expression of 4 dysregulated miRNAs was validated by quantitative Real-Time polymerase chain reaction, confirming the results obtained by sequencing analysis. Bioinformatics analysis was utilized to discover novel miRNAs as well as to identify the main pathways impaired in spermatogenic failure. Results A total of 149 miRNAs were detected to be differentially expressed in the Sertoli cell only syndrome group in comparison with the obstructive azoospermia group. Of these, 13 miRNAs were novel. Bioinformatics analysis suggested that the altered miRNAs were substantially involved in pathways related to spermatogenesis. Conclusions Our study introduces novel miRNAs with emphasis on the crucial role of miRNAs in idiopathic Sertoli cell only syndrome, suggesting potential targets for employing molecular therapeutic strategies in spermatogenic failure treatment.

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