The association of male infertility with telomere length: A case control study

Authors : Kate Deepali Rajesh, Puranam Vatsalaswamy, Manvikar Purshotam Rao

DOI : 10.18231/j.ijcap.2021.070

Volume : 8

Issue : 4

Year : 2021

Page No : 325-332

Aim: To study the relevance of sperm telomere length and infertility in men.
Materials and Methods: Our case-control study included twenty-five males in couple, who were subfertile/infertil (test group) and twenty-five healthy males (control group) with proven paternity in the age group 21-35 years. The Absolute Sperm Telomere length (aSTL) was measured by real-time PCR. We investigated whether any significant difference in the aSTL value existed between the groups and analysed the relationship between aSTL and other sperm parameters.
Results: The mean (SE) aSTL recorded in the infertile cases was significantly shorter than for the control group; 140.60 (6.66) Kb/genome and 239.63 (12.32) Kb/genome respectively (p <0 xss=removed xss=removed xss=removed xss=removed p=0.032)> Conclusion: The measurement of aSTL by real-time PCR is a simple and rapid method that offers further paramount information with respective to the quality of sperm. It is befitted for epidemiological studies, hence opening new perspectives in the evaluation of male infertility.
Limitations: Our study was confined to men aged between 21-35 years. Further comparative studies are needed to explore the significance of STL and infertility in older males. Additional studies will help illumine the significance of aSTL as a prognostic biomarker in assisted reproduction.

Keywords:  Infertility, Real Time PCR, Spermatozoa, STL, Telomere length.


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