Micro RNA in Semen/Urine from Non-Obstructive Azoospermia Patients as Biomarkers to Predict the Presence of Testicular Spermatozoa and Spermatogonia
Margo Willems,
Céline Devriendt,
Catharina Olsen,
Ben Caljon,
Toon Janssen,
Inge Gies,
Veerle Vloeberghs,
Herman Tournaye,
Dorien Van Saen,
Ellen Goossens
Affiliations
Margo Willems
Biology of the Testis (BITE) Laboratory, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Céline Devriendt
Biology of the Testis (BITE) Laboratory, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Biology of the Testis (BITE) Laboratory, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Dorien Van Saen
Biology of the Testis (BITE) Laboratory, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
Ellen Goossens
Biology of the Testis (BITE) Laboratory, Department of Reproduction, Genetics and Regenerative Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
About half of testicular sperm extraction (TESE) procedures in men with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA), including men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS), are unsuccessful. To avoid unnecessary invasive surgery, biomarkers for spermatozoa were studied. In addition, markers for spermatogonia in testis tissue were explored. This study aimed to find biomarkers in the semen and/or urine of NOA patients to predict the presence of spermatogonia in the testis. Differentially expressed miRNAs were identified (1) between samples from patients with and without a positive TESE procedure as well as (2) between TESE-negative patients with and without spermatogonia. A total of thirteen upregulated miRNAs (ten in seminal plasma and three in urine) were found in the TESE-negative/spermatogonia-positive group compared to the TESE-negative/spermatogonia-negative group. These miRNAs could be potential biomarkers for spermatogonia; however, more research is necessary to validate their predictive power.
