Exploring the Link Between Choline Dehydrogenase Gene Polymorphism (rs12676) and in a Guilanian Infertile Men population

Approximately 50% of infertility cases are due to male factor. There is some evidence that aberrant micronutrient metabolism such as choline plays a critical role in male factor infertility. Choline is a crucial factor in the regulation of sperm membrane structure and fluidity, and plays an important role in the maturation and fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa. Choline dehydrogenase (CHDH) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) (rs12676) changes arginine to leucine amino acid substitution at position of 78 of the protein. This can alter the amount and activity of the CHDH enzyme and thus affect the metabolism of choline, sperm motility, fertilization, and fertility. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of CHDH gene (rs12676) polyporphism with male infertility.

In this study 50 infertile men and 50 fertile men of Guilan province population were enrolled. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood. Genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Statistical analysis was performed using the MedCalc program (v12.1.4.0).
Findings: There was a significant difference in allele G and T distribution between patients and healthy subjects. The prevalence of genotype frequencies of GG, GT, TT were 28%, 50% and 22% respectively, in patients, while in healthy subjects were 52%, 36% and 12% respectively. In other words there was a significant difference in the genotype distribution of this SNP in patients compared to controls (ΡDiscussion &

It seems that a significant association was found between CHDH (rs12676) polymorphism and male infertility. Larger and different racial and geographical-based studies with more patients and controls are needed to confirm our findings.