Germ cell development in the XXY mouse: evidence that X chromosome reactivation is independent of sexual differentiation.
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Prior to entry into meiosis, XX germ cells in the fetal ovary undergo X chromosome reactivation. The signal for reactivation is thought to emanate from the genital ridge, but it is unclear whether it is specific to the developing ovary. To determine whether the signals are present in the developing testis as well as the ovary, we examined the expression of X-linked genes in germ cells from XXY male mice. To facilitate this analysis, we generated XXY and XX fetuses carrying X chromosomes that were differentially marked and subject to nonrandom inactivation. This pattern of nonrandom inactivation was maintained in somatic cells but, in XX as well as XXY fetuses, both parental alleles were expressed in germ cell-enriched cell populations. Because testis differentiation is temporally and morphologically normal in the XXY testis and because all germ cells embark upon a male pathway of development, these results provide compelling evidence that X chromosome reactivation in fetal germ cells is independent of the somatic events of sexual differentiation. Proper X chromosome dosage is essential for the normal fertility of male mammals, and abnormalities in germ cell development are apparent in the XXY testis within several days of X reactivation. Studies of exceptional germ cells that survive in the postnatal XXY testis demonstrated that surviving germ cells are exclusively XY and result from rare nondisjunctional events that give rise to clones of XY cells. (+info)
Birth of a healthy neonate following the intracytoplasmic injection of testicular spermatozoa from a patient with Klinefelter's syndrome.
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Klinefelter's syndrome is one of the known causes of azoospermia or cryptoazoospermia, and it may present in non-mosaic (47,XXY) or mosaic (47,XXY/46,XY) form. The likelihood of finding spermatozoa in the ejaculate or testicular tissue of patients with mosaic Klinefelter's syndrome is low, and with the non-mosaic form, even lower. We describe a patient with non-mosaic Klinefelter in whom initially non-motile spermatozoa were derived from searching the ejaculate. Ten mature oocytes were injected, but none was fertilized. Subsequently, testicular biopsy was undertaken in order to collect spermatozoa for oocyte injection. Fifteen motile sperm cells were found and injected. Nine oocytes were fertilized and cleaved; three embryos were transferred into the uterine cavity. The woman conceived and following a normal pregnancy delivered a healthy child. Genetic analysis of the neonate disclosed a normal 46,XY karyotype. Non-motile spermatozoa in the ejaculate did not prove their fertilization potential, but their presence did not exclude finding motile, fertile spermatozoa in the testicular tissue in a non-mosaic Klinefelter patient. This report is further evidence that normal spermatozoa with fertilization potential are produced in the testes of patients with Klinefelter's syndrome. (+info)
Klinefelter's syndrome in the male infertility clinic.
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The clinical features of patients with Klinefelter's syndrome attending a male infertility clinic have been investigated in order to consider their assisted reproduction treatment options. Over 12 years, a total of 148 patients with sterility due to azoospermia had Klinefelter's syndrome. Eight patients were shown by fluorescence in-situ hybridization (FISH) on metaphase spreads to be mosaic (46,XY/47,XXY), and 140 patients showed only 47,XXY. Small testes were observed in 95% of patients and gynaecomastia was seen in 12.4%. Half of the patients showed hypergonadotrophic hypogonadism, while others showed normogonadism (usually hypergonadotrophic). Spermatozoa were observed in semen from one patient with mosaicism and one without. Three-colour FISH revealed hyperploidy in 2.7% and 2.3% of these spermatozoa respectively. Multiple-site testicular biopsies in five recent patients were performed and yielded a specimen with round and elongated spermatids in one patient with 47,XXY karyotype. This sample was cryopreserved for future intracytoplasmic sperm injection. At follow-up, 46% of couples had chosen artificial insemination with donor sperm, and none had chosen adoption. Two patients developed testicular tumours, one a mature teratoma and the other a Leydig cell tumour. Two patients required androgen replacement therapy. (+info)
Fertilization and pregnancy outcome with intracytoplasmic sperm injection for azoospermic men.
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The evident ability of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure to achieve high fertilization and pregnancy rates regardless of semen characteristics has induced its application with spermatozoa surgically retrieved from azoospermic men. Here, ICSI outcome was analysed in 308 cases according to the cause of azoospermia; four additional cycles were with cases of necrozoospermia. All couples were genetically counselled and appropriately screened. Spermatozoa were retrieved by microsurgical epididymal aspiration or from testicular biopsies. Epididymal obstructions were considered congenital (n = 138) or acquired (n = 103), based on the aetiology. Testicular sperm cases were assessed according to the presence (n = 14) or absence (n = 53) of reproductive tract obstruction. The fertilization rate using fresh or cryopreserved epididymal spermatozoa was 72.4% of 911 eggs for acquired obstructions, and 73.1% of 1524 eggs for congenital cases; with clinical pregnancy rates of 48.5% (50/103) and 61.6% (85/138) respectively. Spermatozoa from testicular biopsies fertilized 57.0% of 533 eggs in non-obstructive cases compared to 80.5% of 118 eggs (P = 0.0001) in obstructive azoospermia. The clinical pregnancy rate was 49.1% (26/53) for non-obstructive cases and 57.1% (8/14) for testicular spermatozoa obtained in obstructive azoospermia, including three established with frozen-thawed testicular spermatozoa. In cases of obstructive azoospermia, fertilization and pregnancy rates with epididymal spermatozoa were higher than those achieved using spermatozoa obtained from the testes of men with non-obstructive azoospermia. (+info)
Meiotic aneuploidy in the XXY mouse: evidence that a compromised testicular environment increases the incidence of meiotic errors.
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Male mammals with two X chromosomes are sterile due to the loss of virtually all germ cells in the differentiating testis. The survival of rare germ cells, however, can give rise to patches of normal-appearing spermatogenesis in the adult testis. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) makes possible the establishment of a pregnancy using spermatozoa from severely oligozoospermic men and, indeed, has been successful using spermatozoa from human 47,XXY (Klinefelter syndrome) males. The risk of an abnormal pregnancy, however, may be significantly increased since several studies have demonstrated elevated levels of aneuploidy in spermatozoa from Klinefelter syndrome men. This has been suggested to reflect the consequences of meiotic segregation in XXY germ cells; however, it is also possible that it is a consequence of abnormalities in meiotic regulation in the XXY testis. We have addressed this question experimentally in the XXY male mouse. Analysis of testicular spermatozoa from XXY and control males demonstrates a significant increase in meiotic aneuploidy in the XXY mouse. Since previous studies have demonstrated that germ cells in the adult XXY testis are exclusively XY, the meiotic abnormalities observed must be attributable to segregation errors in XY germ cells. These findings have potential significance for ICSI pregnancies using spermatozoa from other types of male factor infertility patients, since they raise the possibility that increased meiotic errors are a generalized feature of the severely oligozoospermic testis. (+info)
Developmental and genetic disorders in spermatogenesis.
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The most common cause of male infertility is idiopathic. Fresh insights based on genetic and molecular analysis of the human genome permit classification of formerly unexplained disorders in spermatogenesis. In this article, we review new procedures that expand diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to male infertility. Recombinant DNA technology makes it possible to detect specific chromosomal and/or genetic defects among infertile patients. The identification of genes linked to disorders in spermatogenesis and male sexual differentiation has increased exponentially in the past decade. Genetic defects leading to male factor infertility can now be explained at the molecular level, even though the germ cell profile of infertile patients is too variable to permit classification of the clinical phenotype. Increasing knowledge of genes that direct spermatogenesis provides important new information about the molecular and cellular events involved in human spermatogenesis. Molecular analysis of chromosomes and/or genes of infertile patients offers unique opportunities to uncover the aetiology of genetic disorders in spermatogenesis. Increasing numbers of cases, previously classified as idiopathic, can now be diagnosed to facilitate the treatment of infertile men. Advanced knowledge also poses ethical dilemmas, since children conceived with assisted reproductive technologies such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at risk for congenital abnormalities, unbalanced complements of chromosomes and male infertility. (+info)
Chromosome abnormalities in a referred population for suspected chromosomal aberrations: a report of 4117 cases.
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A cytogenetic study was performed on 4,117 Korean patients referred for suspected chromosomal abnormalities. Chromosome aberrations were identified in 17.5% of the referred cases. The most common autosomal abnormality was Down syndrome and Turner syndrome in abnormalities of sex chromosome. The proportions of different karyotypes in Down syndrome (trisomy 21 92.5%, translocation 5.1%, mosaic 2.4%) were similar to those reported in other countries. However, it was different in Turner syndrome (45, X 28.1%, mosaic 50.8%, 46, X, del (Xq) 4.4%, 46, X, i (Xq) 16.7%), in which proportions of mosaics and isochromosome, 46, X, i(Xq), were higher than those reported in other countries. In structural chromosome aberrations of autosome, translocation was the most common (43.6%), and duplication (21.3%), deletion (14.4%), marker chromosome (7.9%) and ring chromosome (4.0%) followed in order of frequency. Rates of several normal variant karyotypes were also described. Inversion of chromosome 9 was observed in 1.7% of total referred cases. (+info)
Klinefelter's syndrome accompanied by mixed connective tissue disease and diabetes mellitus.
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We report a rare case of Klinefelter's syndrome (KS) with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), diabetes mellitus (DM) and several endocrine disorders. A 57-year-old man presented with polyarthritis and tapering fingers with Raynaud's phenomenon on admission. In addition to a karyotype of 47, XXY, a marked restrictive change in respiratory functional test, a myogenic pattern in electromyogram, the positive tests for anti-RNP antibody indicated that this was a case of KS complicated with MCTD. The patients also presented DM with insulin resistance, hyperprolactinemia, slight primary hypothyroidism and hypoadrenocorticism. The mechanism for these coincidences remains to be elucidated. (+info)