Mutation analysis of the JUNO gene in female infertility of unknown etiology

Abstract

The genetic etiology of female infertility is almost completely unknown. Recently, the egg membrane protein JUNO was identified as a receptor of the sperm-specific protein IZUMO1 and their interaction functions in sperm-egg fusion in fertilization. In the present study, we examined 103 women with infertility of unknown etiology. We analyzed the JUNO gene in these cases by PCR and Sanger sequencing. We identified seven variants in total: four common, two synonymous, and a previously unidentified intronic mutation. However, it is not clear from these variants that JUNO has a major role, if any, in infertility. Many factors affect sterility and a larger cohort of patients will need to be screened in the future because the cause of female infertility is highly heterogeneous.

Keywords

• juno
• izumo1
• infertility
• sperm-egg fusion