Association of UCP2 45bp ins/del Gene Polymorphism with Idiopathic Male Infertility

Abstract

Introduction: Infertility is a reproductive issue that has influenced couples worldwide and caused them psychiatric and emotional troubles. It is believed that mitochondrial proteins play a major role in male infertility. One of the most important of these proteins is UCP2, which consists of more than 10% of mitochondria’s inner membrane proteins. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of UCP2 45bp ins/del polymorphism with idiopathic male infertility. Materials & Methods: In this case-control study, UCP2 polymorphism was investigated in 196 individuals with idiopathic infertility and 278 healthy individuals. UCP2 45bp ins/del genotypes were identified by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. Also, genotype and allele frequencies in cases and controls were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Findings: No association was observed between UCP2 45bp ins/del polymorphism genotypes and risk of idiopathic male infertility, but there was a marginal difference between cases and controls regarding II genotype frequency (P=0.08). Moreover, data analysis showed that I allele had protective effect against idiopathic male infertility (OR: 0.729, 95%CI: 0.54-0.985, P=0.039). Discussion & Conclusions: In this study, for the first time, we found that the I allele in UCP2 45bp ins/del polymorphism has protective effects against idiopathic male infertility. Further studies with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are needed to confirm these results.

Keywords

• Idiopathic
• Male infertility
• UCP2
• Polymorphism