Investigation of the Relationship between HIWI2 Gene and Male Idiopathic Infertility

Oligospermia and azoospermia play important roles in male infertility. HIWI genes family plays an important role in spermatogenesis from spermatogonial through protection and formation of meiosis. The single-nucleotide change in HIWI2 gene has been reported as a genetic factor affecting male infertility. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between HIWI2 (rs508485 C>T) genetic changes and the risk of idiopathic severe oligospermia and azoospermia in infertile men.

A case-control investigation was performed on 100 blood samples of men with idiopathic azoospermia/severe oligozoospermia and 100 blood samples of fertile men with one chilled and without historical infertility who were referred to the infertility center of Motazedi Hospital in ermanshah during 2015-2017. To determine HIWI2 C>T gene polymorphism frequency, we used Tetra ARMS-PCR method and data was analyzed using chi-squat test.

In our findings, the genotype frequencies did not show a statically significant difference in dominant (P=0.306, OR=0.704), recessive (P=0.359, OR=0.786), and codominant (P>0.05, OR=1.000) heredity models. The allele frequencies did not reveal a statically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.215, OR=0.774; CI=0.516-1.161).

Our investigation did not show any evidence to the effect of HIWI2 rs508485 gene polymorphism as a risk factor for idiopathic azoospermia/severe oligozoospermia.