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Zhang Q, Liu Z, Han X, Li Y, Xia T, Zhu Y, Li Z, Wang L, Hao L, Hu F, Cao Y, Han C, Zhu Z. Circulatory exosomal tRF-Glu-CTC-005 and tRF-Gly-GCC-002 serve as predictive factors of successful microdissection testicular sperm extraction in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia. Fertil Steril 2021; 117:512-521. [PMID: 34955241 DOI: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2021.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify circulating plasma exosomal transfer RNA-derived fragments (tRFs) as the predictive factors of successful microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) in patients with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). DESIGN Case and control prospective study. SETTING Academic research laboratory. PATIENT(S) Twelve patients with NOA with successful sperm retrieval by micro-TESE, 18 patients with NOA with failed sperm retrieval by micro-TESE, and 12 normozoospermic fertile controls. INTERVENTION(S) Blood samples were collected from participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) The abundance of tRFs normalized as counts per million of the total aligned reads with the next-generation sequencing system; candidate tRF levels were validated through quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction; predictive accuracy was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic area under the curve analysis. The nomogram was built for ranking. RESULT(S) The plasma circulating exosomal tRF-Gly-GCC-002 and tRF-Glu-CTC-005 manifested the most confident differential expression between patients with NOA with successful sperm retrieval by micro-TESE and patients with NOA with failed sperm retrieval by micro-TESE. The target gene prediction of these 2 tRFs followed by the Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis indicated the functional enrichment of neuroendocrine protein metabolism and striatum/subpallium development. The herpes simplex virus 1 infection pathway was also involved. The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) analysis demonstrated a promising predictive accuracy: tRF-Gly-GCC-002, AUC of 0.921, and tRF-Glu-CTC-005, AUC of 0.954. A regression model was built and presented with the nomogram for further assessment. CONCLUSION(S) This study described the exosomal tRF-Gly-GCC-002 and tRF-Glu-CTC-005 expression values, indicated a promising predictive effect for accessibility of sperm retrieval through micro-TESE from patients with NOA, and highlighted tRF-Gly-GCC-002 and tRF-Glu-CTC-005 as useful biomarkers in patients with NOA seeking in vitro conception with their residual sperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Zhang
- Xuzhou Engineering Research Center of Medical Genetics and Transformation, Key Laboratory of Genetic Foundation and Clinical Application, Department of Genetics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhao Liu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiaoxiao Han
- School of Life Science, Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
| | - Ying Li
- Medical Technology College, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Tian Xia
- Graduate School, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yao Zhu
- Xuzhou Engineering Research Center of Medical Genetics and Transformation, Key Laboratory of Genetic Foundation and Clinical Application, Department of Genetics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhenbei Li
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China; Department of Urology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Liang Wang
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Medical Informatics and Engineering, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Lin Hao
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China; Department of Urology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Fangfang Hu
- Center of Reproductive Medicine, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Yijuan Cao
- Center of Reproductive Medicine, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Conghui Han
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China; Department of Urology, Xuzhou Central Hospital, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Zuobin Zhu
- Xuzhou Engineering Research Center of Medical Genetics and Transformation, Key Laboratory of Genetic Foundation and Clinical Application, Department of Genetics, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
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