STS markers of Ychromosome in infertility cases in Indian population: A review

Abstract

Among infertile couples, thirty percent males seek advice for further work up of oligozoospermia and azoospermia. In these subsets of patients, Y chromosome microdeletion is a second line of investigation of male infertility work up. It is a relatively little-known in Indian population. Sequence tagged sites are important in determination of Y Chromosome microdeletion. For the purpose of screening of a disease, one should always use those markers that have less probability of missing any true case. As the prescribed markers used by European Academy of Andrology (EAA) have a tendency to miss some cases, proposed markers need to be revised from the initial screening. The aim of the study is to compare the prevalence of Y chromosome microdeletion in different part of India by using different STS markers. This study complied all studies from India who performed Y chromosome microdeletion test using various markers, both EAA and non-EAA markers. Yq microdeletion in Indian population ranges from 0- 15%. On review of various studies in Indian population, current study arrived at the conclusion that the investigator should use four, six, and four markers for AZFa, AZFb and AZFc respectively for initial screening of Y chromosome microdeletion. These markers have least probability of missing the potential cases of male infertility.