{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:47:53Z","timestamp":1777855673359,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,1]],"date-time":"2025-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761955200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,1]],"date-time":"2025-11-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1761955200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Am J Mens Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Idiopathic nonobstructive azoospermia (iNOA) is defined as the absence of sperm in the ejaculate with no identifiable cause after thorough physical, hormonal, and genetic evaluations. This study aimed to investigate the differential gene expression of key epigenetic regulators\u2014\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">DNA methyltransferase (DNMT) 1 (DNMT1), DNMT3A, DNMT3B, and Zinc Finger CCHC-Type Containing 13 (ZCCHC13)<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2014in patients with iNOA compared with those with obstructive azoospermia (OA). Sixty infertile men diagnosed with azoospermia were equally divided into iNOA (case group) and OA (control group). Participants with iNOA were further subdivided into iNOA\u207a (successful sperm retrieval,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 10) and iNOA\u207b (unsuccessful retrieval,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">n<\/jats:italic>\n                    = 20) based on microdissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) outcomes. The relative expression of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">DNMT1, DNMT3A, DNMT3B<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ZCCHC13<\/jats:italic>\n                    was analyzed in testicular tissue samples using quantitative real-time PCR. Expression levels of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">DNMT1<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ZCCHC13<\/jats:italic>\n                    were significantly lower in the iNOA group compared with OA (\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                    = .01), while\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">DNMT3B<\/jats:italic>\n                    expression was significantly higher in iNOA, particularly in the iNOA\u207b subgroup (\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; .0001). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis revealed DNMT3B had the highest diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.84,\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">p<\/jats:italic>\n                    &lt; .0001), followed by ZCCHC13 (Area under the curve (AUC) = 0.69) and DNMT1 (AUC = 0.68). Our findings indicate that epigenetic dysregulation contributes to impaired spermatogenesis in iNOA, which can be molecularly distinguished from OA. Epigenetic biomarkers such as\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">DNMT3B<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">ZCCHC13<\/jats:italic>\n                    may offer reliable diagnostic tools for idiopathic cases of azoospermia and serve as potential targets for future epigenetic therapies.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/15579883251389793","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]],"date-time":"2025-11-17T12:20:20Z","timestamp":1763382020000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Epigenetic Disruption as a Molecular Signature in Idiopathic Nonobstructive Azoospermia"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1189-9037","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amir Masoud","family":"Firouzabadi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Ashk.C., Islamic Azad University, Ashkezar, Yazd, Iran"},{"name":"Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Samaneh","family":"Harimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Parisa","family":"Heydari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran"},{"name":"Vali-Asr Hospital, Bafq, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Farangis","family":"Demehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Science and Arts University, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Seyyed Amir Hossein","family":"Mirghanizadeh Bafghi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3743-4449","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Farzaneh","family":"Fesahat","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Reproductive Immunology Research Center, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Aceituno-Valenzuela U. 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