Association of TUSC1 and DPF3 gene polymorphisms with male infertility.

Purpose: Recently, genome-wide association studies of a Hutterite population in the USA revealed that five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with a significant association with sperm quality and/or function in ethnically diverse men from Chicago were significantly correlated with family size. Of these, three SNPs (rs7867029, rs7174015, and rs12870438) were found to be significantly associated with the risk of azoospermia and/or oligozoospermia in a Japanese population. In this study, we investigated whether the rs10966811 (located in an intergenic region between the TUSC1 and IZUMO3 genes) and rs10129954 (located in the DPF3 gene) SNPs, previously related to family size, are associated with male infertility.

Erratum: An independent validation study of three single nucleotide polymorphisms at the sex hormone-binding globulin locus for testosterone levels identified by genome-wide association studies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1093/hropen/hox002.][This corrects the article DOI: 10.

A replication study of a candidate locus for follicle-stimulating hormone levels and association analysis for semen quality traits in Japanese men.

In men, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) acts on the seminiferous tubules and enhances spermatogenesis. Recently, a candidate locus (rs2414095) for FSH levels was identified by a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Chinese men. The rs2414095 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is found on the third intron of the cytochrome P450, family 19, subfamily A, peptide 1 (CYP19A1) gene encoding an aromatase.

An association study of four candidate loci for human male fertility traits with male infertility.

Study Question: Are the four candidate loci (rs7867029, rs7174015, rs12870438 and rs724078) for human male fertility traits, identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a Hutterite population in the USA, associated with male infertility in a Japanese population?

Summary Answer: rs7867029, rs7174015 and rs12870438 are significantly associated with the risk of male infertility in a Japanese population.

What Is Known Already: Recently, a GWAS of a Hutterite population in the USA revealed that 41 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were significantly correlated with family size or birth rate. Of these, four SNPs (rs7867029, rs7174015, rs12870438 and rs724078) were found to be associated with semen parameters in ethnically diverse men from Chicago.

Lack of replication of four candidate SNPs implicated in human male fertility traits: a large-scale population-based study.

Study Question: Are the four candidate loci (rs7867029, rs12870438, rs7174015 and rs724078) for human male fertility traits, identified in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of a Hutterite population in the USA, associated with semen quality traits in a Japanese population?

Summary Answer: The four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs7867029, rs12870438, rs7174015 and rs724078 have no association with semen parameters in a meta-analysis of two Japanese male cohorts.

What Is Known Already: Four (rs7867029, rs12870438, rs7174015 and rs724078) of the SNPs associated with family size or birth rate in the GWAS of a Hutterite population in the USA were associated with semen parameters in ethnically diverse men from Chicago, USA.

Study Design, Size, Duration: This is a replication study in a total of 2015 Japanese subjects, including 791 fertile men and 1224 young men from the general population.

Y chromosome gr/gr subdeletion is associated with lower semen quality in young men from the general Japanese population but not in fertile Japanese Men.

Several case-control studies have investigated whether Y chromosome haplogroups or deletions are associated with spermatogenic failure. However, the relationships between Y chromosome haplogroups or deletions and semen quality in general population have not been elucidated. In this study, we assessed relationships between Y chromosome haplogroups or deletions and semen parameters in 791 fertile Japanese men and 1221 young men from the general Japanese population.

Semen quality of fertile Japanese men: a cross-sectional population-based study of 792 men.

Objectives: To establish a base line for future studies on temporal trends, to describe potential geographical differences in semen quality and reference values for studies of men from the general population.

Design: Cross-sectional study of fertile men from four areas in Japan. Inclusion criteria were: age 20-45 years at the time of invitation, and both the man and his mother had to be born in Japan.

Climatic influence on the reproductive characteristics of Japanese males.

We previously performed a survey of the sperm characteristics of the partners of pregnant women in four cities in Japan. In the present study, we analyzed the sperm characteristics of these subjects and the correlations between these sperm characteristics and climatic changes or Y chromosome haplogroups. Our results showed that more haplogroup D2a1 males than O2b1 males were born in the first half of the year (January to June), whereas more O2b1 males were born in the last half of the year (July to December) (P<0.

Low pre-radiotherapy prostate-specific antigen level is a significant predictor of treatment success for postoperative radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer.

Background: The optimal role of postoperative radiotherapy for patients with prostate cancer remains undefined.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 70 patients (median age: 66 years), who had received radical radiotherapy (RT) between the years 1996 and 2004 after radical prostatectomy (RP), were analyzed. Fifteen patients had received immediate adjuvant RT, while the other 55 patients had received salvage therapy.

Efficacy of modest dose irradiation in combination with long-term endocrinal treatment for high-risk prostate cancer: a preliminary report.

Background: Although radiotherapy in combination with endocrinal manipulation has been identified as an effective treatment for patients with high-risk prostate cancer, the optimal dose for locoregional control of prostate cancer in combination with hormonal therapy has not yet been determined.

Methods: The efficacy of modest doses of irradiation (60-62 Gy) combined with long-term endocrinal treatment for patients with high-risk prostate cancer (defined as a pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level greater than 20 ng/ml or a Gleason's score of 8-10 or T3-T4 disease) was analyzed in 60 Japanese patients. The patients included in this study had received radical radiotherapy with long-term endocrinal manipulation in the period between 1993 and 2000.

c-Abl tyrosine kinase regulates the human Rad9 checkpoint protein in response to DNA damage.

The ubiquitously expressed c-Abl tyrosine kinase is activated in the apoptotic response of cells to DNA damage. The mechanisms by which c-Abl signals the induction of apoptosis are not understood. Here we show that c-Abl binds constitutively to the mammalian homolog of the Schizosaccharomyces pombe Rad9 cell cycle checkpoint protein.