METHODS: In our study, we examined, for the first time in a Turkish population, the association between protamine gene alleles (PRM1 c.-190C>A, PRM1 c.197G>T, and PRM2 c.248C>T), and YBX2 (c.187T>C and c.1095 + 16A>G) and male infertility. This was accomplished using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses of 100 infertile and 100 fertile Turkish men. Sperm DNA fragmentation analysis was performed using the Comet technique.
RESULTS: We found that the AA and CA genotypes of the PRM1 c.-190C>A polymorphism had a significant association with infertility (p < 0.001) and the AA genotype was also highly significantly associated with high sperm DNA damage (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the PRM1 c.-190C>A polymorphism is associated with sperm DNA fragmentation, which may impact male infertility in the Turkish population. Further research with larger groups and in various other study populations will be required to clarify the impact of protamine and YBX2 gene polymorphisms on male infertility.