The prognostic role of the extent of Y microdeletion on spermatogenesis and maturity of Sertoli cells

Substantial involvement of the Y chromosome in sexual development and sperm atogenesis has been demonstrated. Over the last decade, varying extent of Y chromosome microdeletions have been identified among infertile patients wi th azoospermia or oligozoospermia. These microdeletions were clustered in t hree main regions named AZFa, AZFb, and AZFc, Analysis of the Y chromosome microdeletion was found to be of prognostic value in cases of infertility, both in terms of clinical management as well as for understanding the aetio logy of the spermatogenesis impairment. However, the accumulated data are d ifficult to analyse, due to the variable extent of these deletions, the dif ferent sequence-tagged sites (STS) used to detect the microdeletions, and t he non-uniformity of the histological terminology used by different investi gators. This debate discusses the chances of finding testicular spermatozoa in men with a varying extent of Y chromosome microdeletions. The genotype and germ cell. findings in men with AZFa microdeletions as well as those th at include more than a single AZF region are reviewed, as is the effect of Y chromosome AZF microdeletions on the maturity of the Sertoli cells.