Seminal plasma miR-192a: a biomarker predicting successful resolution of nonobstructive azoospermia following varicocele repair.

Er-lei Zhi; Guo-qing Liang; Peng LI; Hui-xing Chen; Ru-hui Tian; Peng XU; Zheng LI

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Seminal plasma miR-192a: a biomarker predicting successful resolution of nonobstructive azoospermia following varicocele repair.

Author: Er-Lei ZHI ¹ ; Guo-Qing LIANG ² ; Peng LI ¹ ; Hui-Xing CHEN ¹ ; Ru-Hui TIAN ¹ ; Peng XU ³ ; Zheng LI ¹
Author Information

1. Department of Andrology, Center for Men's Health, Department of ART, Institute of Urologic Medical Center, Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Key Lab of Reproductive Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 100 Haining Road, Shanghai 200080, China.
2. Department of Andrology, Seventh People's Hospital of Shanghai University of TCM, Shanghai 200000, China.
3. Oriental Jinghua Hospital of Shenyang, Department of ART, 156 Nanjing Road, Shenyang 110005, China.
Publication Type:Journal Article
Keywords: miR-192a; nonobstructive azoospermia; seminal plasma; varicocelectomy
MeSH: Adult; Apoptosis; Asian People; Azoospermia/surgery*; Biomarkers/analysis*; Caspase 3/analysis*; Cell Proliferation; Humans; Infertility, Male/etiology*; Male; MicroRNAs/biosynthesis*; Microsurgery; Predictive Value of Tests; Semen/metabolism*; Testis/metabolism*; Treatment Outcome; Varicocele/surgery*
From: Asian Journal of Andrology 2018;20(4):396-399
CountryChina
Language:English
Abstract: This study was performed to investigate a potential marker for the presence of spermatozoa in the ejaculate following varicocelectomy in Chinese men with nonobstructive azoospermia and varicoceles. The micro-RNA (miR)-192a levels in seminal plasma and testicular tissue were evaluated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction from 60 men with nonobstructive azoospermia and varicoceles (Group A: 27 men with spermatozoa found in the ejaculate after surgery; Group B: 33 men without spermatozoa found in the ejaculate after surgery) and 30 controls. The seminal plasma and testicular tissue miR-192a levels were higher in Group B than in Group A and the controls (P < 0.001), and there was no significant difference between Group A and the controls (P > 0.05). Apoptosis and proliferation assays with miR mimics and inhibitors showed that miR-192a induced GC-2 cell apoptosis through the activation of Caspase-3 protein. Thus, seminal plasma miR-192a appears to be a potential marker for successfully indicating spermatozoa in the ejaculate following microsurgical varicocelectomy in men with nonobstructive azoospermia and varicoceles. Seminal plasma miR-192a may be a useful clinical marker for prescreening to determine which patients with nonobstructive azoospermia and varicoceles would benefit from varicocelectomy.