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Table 2 The chromosome aberrations related to pretesticular male infertility: from the first observation to the report

From: The evolving role of genetic tests in reproductive medicine

Indications for genetic test

Genetic condition

Frequency

Test

Chromosome/genetic alterations

ART

Inheritance

Antenatal test

Differential diagnosis

Refs.

Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, ↑FSH ↑LH ↓T, azoospermia, oligozoospermia; small testes, infertility, gynecomastia; neurocognitive deficits; metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes. Approximately 10% of these subjects have spermatozoa in the ejaculate, and in 30–50% of cases there is intratesticular spermatogenesis

Klinefelter’s syndrome

1/660 newborns; > 5% in severe oligozoospermia; 10% in azoospermia

Karyotype

47,XXY (85–90%)

46,XY/47,XXY mosaicism (6–7%)

46,XX/47,XXY or multiple X aneuploidy (3–8%)

✓ Testicular sperm retrieval + ICSI

De novo mutation

NA

46,XX testicular DSD

[11, 12]

Short stature; gynecomastia, male external genitalia, small testes, cryptorchidism, hypospadias, infertility, ↑FSH ↑LH↓T; azoospermia/oligozoospermia

Nonsyndromic 46,XX Testicular Disorders of Sex Development (De la Chapelle syndrome)

1/20.000; 0,9% in azoospermia; 1–3% normospermia

FISH or CMA

SRY+ XX (80–90%)

✗ Testicular sperm retrieval; ✓ heterologous fertilization

AD

✓

Syndromic forms of 46,XX testicular DSD; 45X/46,XY; 47,XXY; 46,XX; sex chromosome mosaicisms; Prenatal exposure of 46,XX fetuses to androgens

[13]

Penoscrotal hypospadias, cryptorchidism, infertility; ↑FSH ↑LH↓T; azoospermia/oligozoospermia

SRY− XX (< 10%)

Unknown

✓

Short stature; small testes, infertility; ↑FSH ↑LH↓T; azoospermia/oligozoospermia

CMA or molecular diagnostic by PCR

CNV or rearrangements in SOX9, SOX3, RSPO1 and WNT4 (rare)

✓AD for SOX9; AR for RSPO1 or WNT4

✓

46,XX; 46,XY disorders of sex development

[14,15,16,17,18]

Tall stature, delayed development of speech, language or motor skills, autism spectrum disorder, hypotonia, motor tics, clinodactyly, scoliosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; ↑FSH normal or ↓T; from normal to azoospermia; from 0.57 to 77.8% sperm mosaicism, a- or hyper diploidy

Double Y syndrome (Jacobs syndrome)

1/1.000; 0.4% in oligozoospermia

Cytogenetics tests

47,XYY; 46,XY/47,XYY mosaics

✓IVF or ICSI in case of oligospermic patients

Does not have a clear pattern of inheritance

✓

46,XY

[14, 19]

Subfertility or uneventful andrological history; oligozoospermia

Balanced structural chromosome aberrations

5% of infertile men

FISH

t(SRY; X); der(13, 14); der(14, 21); der(14, 15)

✓

NA

✓ PGT

Other causes of oligozoospermia

[20]

  1. Database sources: NIH, OMIM and OrphaNet
  2. ✓, yes; ✗, no; NA, not applicable; ICSI, intracytoplasmic sperm injection; IVF, in vitro fertilization; FISH, fluorescence in situ hybridization; PGT: preimplantation genetic testing; CMA, chromosomal microarray analysis