miR-508-5p and mir-510-5p expressions and their relationships with spermatozoa motility and morphology

Background and aims:miRNAs have regulatory functions in developmental processes. The stages of spermatogenesis can also be affected by miRNAs. We tried to detect a relationship between the expression of miR-508-5p and miR-510-5p and male infertility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between expression of miR-508-5p and mir-510-5p in ejaculated sperm from patients with idiopathic asthenozoospermia, teratozoospermia, and teratoasthenozoospermia. Materials and Methods:We enrolled 18 men with asthenozoospermia, 17 men with teratozoospermia, 18 men with teratoasthenozoospermia, and 18 individuals with normozoospermia based on the clinical criteria. Then, the expressions of the mentioned miRs in the spermatozoa were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Kruskal-Wallis was used to compare their expressions in the studied groups. Results: The expression of mir-508-5p did not show any statistical significance in all groups. On the other hand, the expression of miR-510- 5p in teratozoospermia groups (P<0.05) and the asthenozoospermia group (P<0.05) demonstrated a significant downregulation compared with the control and teratoasthenozoospermia groups. Conclusion: By analyzing the expression profile of miRNAs, we concluded that the expression level of miR-510-5p changed in patients with abnormal motility and morphology of spermatozoa; therefore, it may affect infertility by down-regulating the expression of mir-510-5p which shows the role of it in abnormal morphology and motility defects in infertility cases.