{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,13]],"date-time":"2026-10-13T02:56:32Z","timestamp":1791860192802,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)","issue":"1","content-domain":{"domain":["lww.com","ovid.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"\n Nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA) is a severe condition in infertile men, and increasing numbers of causative genes have been identified during the last few decades. Although certain causative genes can explain the presence of NOA in some patients, a proportion of NOA patients remain to be addressed. This study aimed to investigate potential high-risk genes associated with spermatogenesis in idiopathic NOA patients by whole-exome sequencing. Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 46 male patients diagnosed with NOA. First, screening was performed for 119 genes known to be related to male infertility. Next, further screening was performed to determine potential high-risk causative genes for NOA by comparisons with 68 healthy male controls. Finally, risk genes with high\/specific expression in the testes were selected and their expression fluctuations during spermatogenesis were graphed. The frequency of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (\n CFTR<\/jats:italic>\n ) gene pathogenic variant carriers was higher in the NOA patients compared with the healthy controls. Potential risk genes that may be causes of NOA were identified, including seven genes that were highly\/specifically expressed in the testes. Four risk genes previously reported to be involved in spermatogenesis (MutS homolog 5 [\n MSH5<\/jats:italic>\n ], cilia- and flagella-associated protein 54 [\n CFAP54<\/jats:italic>\n ], MAP7 domain containing 3 [\n MAP7D3<\/jats:italic>\n ], and coiled-coil domain containing 33 [\n CCDC33<\/jats:italic>\n ]) and three novel risk genes (coiled-coil domain containing 168 [\n CCDC168<\/jats:italic>\n ], chromosome 16 open reading frame 96 [\n C16orf96<\/jats:italic>\n ], and serine protease 48 [\n PRSS48<\/jats:italic>\n ]) were identified to be highly or specifically expressed in the testes and significantly different in the 46 NOA patients compared with 68 healthy controls. This study on clinical NOA patients provides further evidence for the four previously reported risk genes. The present findings pave the way for further functional investigations and provide candidate risk genes for genetic diagnosis of NOA.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4103\/aja202275","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,10,18]],"date-time":"2022-10-18T09:30:42Z","timestamp":1666085442000},"page":"66-72","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1097\/lww.0000000000001000","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Identification of risk genes in Chinese nonobstructive azoospermia patients based on whole-exome sequencing"],"prefix":"10.4103","volume":"25","author":[{"given":"Yu-Jun","family":"Liu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin-Jie","family":"Zhuang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jian-Ting","family":"An","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hui","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Urology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Department of Andrology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jie","family":"Qiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li-Ying","family":"Yan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xu","family":"Zhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"National Clinical Research Center for Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing 100191, China"},{"name":"Key Laboratory of Assisted Reproduction, Peking University, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100191, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"276","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1-20240829","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1186\/s12958-015-0032-1","article-title":"A unique view on male infertility around the globe","volume":"13","author":"Agarwal","year":"2015","journal-title":"Reprod Biol 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