For successful sperm retrieval in azoospermic men, a reliable prediction of success rate is necessary. The aim of this study is to assess the gene expression of SPEM1 in testicular tissue and serum inhibin B levels in patients with primary azoospermia and to evaluate their predictive power for sperm retrieval.

Material and Methods: 60 non-obstructive azoospermic patients and 20 obstructive azoospermic patients undergoing testicular tissue microdissection for intracytoplasmic sperm injection were studied. SPEM1 gene expression was analyzed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction using the DDCt method. Chemiluminescence technique was used to measure the levels of serum inhibin B.

Results: The relative expression of SPEM1 and serum inhibin B levels were significantly lower in patients compared to controls.  The relative expression of SPEM1 and serum inhibin B levels was significantly higher in patients with positive sperm retrieval than patients with negative sperm retrieval. A positive correlation was found between SPEM1 relative expression and serum Inhibin B levels in the studied group.

Conclusion: Results suggest that SPEM1 and serum inhibin B can both be utilized in predicting the success of sperm retrieval. SPEM1 could be considered a stronger predictor of sperm retrieval than serum inhibin B.

Keywords: Azoospermi, Inhibin B, Microdissection testicular sperm extraction,  SPEM, Sperm retrieval. 

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Walid Marei Ahmed

Resident, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology, Alexandria University, 21561 Alexandria, Egypt

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2200-8719