Involvement of mutation in a familial context of unexplained infertility and fertilization failure associated with hearing loss: a case report.

Objective: To explore the functional implications of a homozygous (cation channel for sperm) deletion within the acrosome reaction pathway during fertilization in 2 brothers, who have unexplained infertility and hearing loss.

Design: Case report.

Patients: Two twin brothers aged 30 years with hearing loss and unexplained infertility.

Exposure Or Intervention: Molecular genetic diagnosis of deafness. Evaluation of the acrosome reaction and calcium mobilization assays after induction by progesterone and ionomycin on spermatozoa of the -mutated patient and on fertile controls.

Main Outcome Measures: Fertilization rate during conventional in vitro fertilization. Molecular genetic test. Percentage of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa with peanut agglutinin lectin staining. Recording of progesterone and ionomycin-induced intracellular calcium signals with a fluorescent probe.

Results: Mr. S and his brother have normal, conventional sperm parameters. Both brothers have had repeated intrauterine insemination failures and one fertilization failure after conventional in vitro fertilization. Mr. S obtained 2 healthy babies after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Genetic analysis found a homozygote deletion of the (stereocilin) gene (NM 153700: c.1-? 5328+?del) that removes the gene. Mutation of the gene is known to be associated with hearing loss. Sperm functional tests revealed an inability of progesterone to activate intracellular calcium signaling and to induce acrosome reaction.

Conclusion: We demonstrate the absence of a calcium signal and acrosome reaction after progesterone in our patient with a mutation. We emphasize the importance of the male medical interview and of the genetic investigation of hearing loss. We show that in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection is necessary, even where normal sperm parameters are present.