frequency of tnfr1 36 a/g gene polymorphism in azoospermic infertile men: a case-control study

Background: tumor necrosis factor-alpha (tnf-α) is a multifunctional cytokine that regulates different cellular activities related to spermatogenesis. tumor necrosis factor-alpha receptor 1 (tnfr1) mediates tnf-α activity and polymorphism in tnfr1 could lead to gene dysfunction and male infertility. objective: the aim of this study is to determine the association of tnfr1 36 a/g polymorphism with the idiopathic azoospermia in iranian population. materials and methods: this case-control study included 108 azoospermic and 119 fertile men. this research investigated the frequency of tnfr1 36 a/g polymorphism in cases who were idiopathic azoospermic men referred to yazd research and clinical center for infertility, iran in comparison with controls. polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (pcr-rflp) method was used to investigate the polymorphism in both case and control groups. pcr fragments were digested by mspa1i enzyme and products were appeared by gel electrophoresis. the abundance of a→g was calculated in the azoospermic and healthy men. results: according to the present study, gg and ag genotypes frequency in the azoospermic men group were higher than the control group (or= 2.298 (1.248-4.229), p=0.007), (or=1.47 (0.869-2.498, p=0.149). our findings also showed that g allele frequency in azoospermic men had significant difference compared to the control group (or=2.302 (1.580-3.355), p<0.001). conclusion: it seems that the gg genotype and g allele have an association with increased risk of non-obstructive azoospermia.