[Protamine gene polymorphisms and male infertility].

ABSTRACT

Protamine (PRM) is one of the most abundant arginine-rich nucleoproteins in sperm and plays an important role in spermatogenesis. In the late stage of spermatogenesis, the replacement of PRM by histone prompts the closer combination between the nuclear matrix of sperm and nucleoprotein in order for high enrichment and condensation of nuclear chromatin in addition to preventing the sperm genome from mutation induced by internal and external factors. With the development of DNA sequencing techniques, researches on the association between PRM polymorphisms and male fertility are surfacing as a hot field. Many studies show that rs2301365 polymorphism is a risk factor for male infertility and increases the risk of male infertility by 27 - 66%, that rs737008 polymorphism of PRM1 and rs1646022 polymorphism of PRM2 are protective factors against Asian infertility, and that the ratio of PRM1 to PRM2 is intensively associated with male infertility. This review presents an update on the association between PRM gene polymorphisms and male infertility.