Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To characterize the potential role of Y-chromosome microdeletion (YCM) as a genetic cause for infertility in the Arab population from the Al Madinah Al Munawarah. METHODS: We screened 97 infertile men from Al Madinah Al Munawarah, from February 2022 to March 2024. Genomic blood DNA was analyzed for 8 sequence tagged site (STS) markers of Y chromosome by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We found microdeletions in 3 infertile men, indicating a prevalence of 3.1%. The STS markers sY254 and sY255 corresponding to AZFc regions were deleted in these men. No deletion was observed in any other STS markers investigated in this study. CONCLUSION: Our findings for prevalence in Arab population of Al Madinah Al Munawarah is comparable to other studies from Saudi Arabia. However, large variance in the prevalence of YCM in the Arab population of other Middle Eastern countries is reportedly observed. The YCM has significant prognostic value, since it indicates the spermatogenic profile, the success probability of assisted reproduction technique (ART) procedures as testicular sperm extraction and apprise of potential risk of vertical transmission of microdeletion from father to son in patients opting for ART. With these considerations, we re-emphasize the need for genetic screening of YCM in azoo- and oligozoospermic infertile men.