Expression of the apoptosis inhibitor survivin in testicular tissue of infertile patients

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Abstract
Summary: Apoptosis is a common phenomenon during spermatogenesis, and its dysregulation has been associated with male infertility. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates apoptosis at cell division and is overexpressed in common human cancers. We investigated whether survivin mRNA expression is detectable in testicular biopsies from patients with infertility of varying aetiology. The aim of this study was to examine the testicular survivin expression in azoospermic men with normal spermatogenesis and in those with specific spermatogenic disorders. Survivin mRNA expression was detected by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction in histologically classified testicular biopsy specimens from 30 azoospermic men. Survivin was found to be expressed in normal spermatogenesis (n = 10), in post‐meiotic spermatogenic arrest (n = 6), and in specimens showing a mixed picture of pre‐meiotic maturation arrest with sparse islands of post‐meiotic arrest (n = 2). In contrast, a lack of survivin expression was seen in specimens without haploid germ cells (pre‐meiotic maturation arrest, n = 2) and in those with Sertoli‐cell‐only syndrome (SCOS, n = 10). These data indicate for the first time that survivin is expressed in human testis. Moreover, its expression seems to correlate with the stage of maturation arrest in patients presenting with spermatogenic disorders. Survivin mRNA expression was not found in SCOS specimens, possibly indicating germ‐cell‐specific expression in human testicular tissue. Thus, survivin is a potential molecular marker of spermatogenesis, whose expression is altered in specific spermatogenic disorders.