Analysis of the androgen receptor CAG repeats length in Iranian patients with idiopathic non-obstructive azoospermia

ObjectiveThe present study was performed to determine whether expansion of the CAG repeat in exon 1 of the AR gene is correlated with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) in Iranian infertile men.MethodsThe CAG repeat length was investigated in 307 Iranian men, 104 infertile men with NOA and 203 fertile controls using primers flanking the CAG repeat region in exon 1 of the AR gene.ResultsThe most common allele in the patients and controls was 23 (18.39%) and 21 (19.70%) CAG repeats with the mean number of 21.97 ± 2.772 and 21.10 ± 2.674, respectively (P = 0.013).ConclusionAlthough our results indicate a significant negative correlation between the length of CAG repeat and male infertility, however, other genetic modifiers may be required in order to cause male infertility.