The polymorphisms of NR5A1 gene in azoospermic men in Sichuan, China

Background: Steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1, NR5A1) is a key transcriptional regulator involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-steroidogenic organ development. Recently, heterozygous mutations in NR5A1 were found may contribute to the male infertility aetiology. Here, we investigated the association of polymorphisms in NR5A1 gene with azoospermic men in Sichuan, China. Methods: We have performed the NR5A1 gene direct secquencing in a cohort of 102 well-characterised idiopathic Chinese azoospermic infertile men versus 103 fertile men, who were selected by Semen analysis, Karyotype analysis and Y-chromosomal AZF deletion screening. We identified two previously described missense p. Results: Gly146Ala (rs1110061; c.437 G>C) and p.Arg313His (c.938G>A), and the frequency of 437C ( [OR] 1.846, 95% [CI] 1.227-2.778, P=0.003), 437GC (OR =1.884 , 95% CI =1.037-3.422 , P =0.037 ) and 437CC (OR =3.586 , 95% CI =1.397-9.206 , P =0.006 ) were found to be increased significantly in azoospermic patients while no mutations in control .Moreover, one novel heterozygous p.Ser322ILe (c.965 G >A) missense mutation was found in 8 patients which highly conserved serine to isoleucine shown in the Beta strand domain on SF-1 protein. Conclusions: This is the first study, according to our knowledge, to investigate the association between the polymorphisms of NR5A1 gene and azoospermic men in China, and these results suggest that the Gly146Ala polymorphism may be a susceptibility factor for the azoospermic men in Sichuan, China.