Association of MTHFR C677T and MTRR A66G Gene Polymorphisms with Iranian Male Infertility and Its Effect on Seminal Folate and Vitamin B12

Abstract

Background: The relation between key enzymes in regulation of folate metabolism and male infertility is the subjectof numerous studies. We aimed to determine whether 5, 10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677Tand methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) A66G genotypes are associated with male infertility in Iranian men andto evaluate its effect on seminal levels of folate and vitamin B12.Materials and Methods: In this retrospective study, semen and peripheral blood samples were collected from 254men with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT) and 77 normozoospermic men who attended Avicenna infertility clinic.Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis was carried out in genomic DNA by polymerase chain reaction(PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method for MTHFR C677T and MTRR A66G gene polymorphisms.Results: In MTHFR C677T, our founding showed that T carrier was conversely lower in OAT than normozoospermic men(χ2-test=7.245, P=0.02) whereas in MTRR A66G, A and G carrier showed no significant difference between the two groups(χ2-test=1.079, P=0.53). The concentration of seminal folate was not different between normozoospermic (18.83 ± 17.1 ng/ml) and OAT (16.96 ± 14.2 ng/ml) men (P=0.47). The concentration of vitamin B12 was slightly higher in normozospermicmen (522.6 ± 388.1 pg/ml) compared to OAT men (412.9 ± 303.6 pg/ml, P=0.058).Conclusion: The MTHFR C677T and MTRR A66G have no effect on the concentrations of seminal folate and vitaminB12. The present study showed that two SNPs of MTRR A66G and MTHFR C677T cannot be seen as a risk factor formale factor subfertility.

Keywords

• folate
• male infertility
• mthfr
• mtrr
• vitamin b12