• PMID: 15139971
• Gene Name: BIRC5
• Condition: Male infertility, Spermatogenic defects, Azoopsermia
• Association: These data indicate for the first time that survivin is expressed in human testis. Moreover, its expression seems to correlate with the stage of maturation arrest in patients presenting with spermatogenic disorders. Survivin mRNA expression was not found
• Population size: 30
• Population details: 30 (10 normal spermatogenesis, 6 post meiotic spermatogenic arrest, 2 post-meiotic arrest, 2 pre-meiotic maturation arrest, 10 Sertoli-cell-only syndrome)
• Sex: Male
• Infertility type: Male infertility
• Other associated phenotypes: Male infertility, Spermatogenic defects, Azoopsermia

Expression of the apoptosis inhibitor survivin in testicular tissue of infertile patients

Weikert S, Schrader M, Müller M, Krause H, Miller K.

Summary Apoptosis is a common phenomenon during spermatogenesis, and its dysregulation has been associated with male infertility. Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis protein that regulates apoptosis at cell division and is overexpressed in common human cancers. We investigated whether survivin mRNA expression is detectable in testicular biopsies from patients with infertility of varying aetiology. The aim of this study was to examine the testicular survivin expression in azoospermic men with normal spermatogenesis and in those with specific spermatogenic disorders. Survivin mRNA expression was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in histologically classified testicular biopsy specimens from 30 azoospermic men. Survivin was found to be expressed in normal spermatogenesis (n = 10), in post-meiotic spermatogenic arrest (n = 6), and in specimens showing a mixed picture of pre-meiotic maturation arrest with sparse islands of post-meiotic arrest (n = 2). In contrast, a lack of survivin expression was seen in specimens without haploid germ cells (pre-meiotic maturation arrest, n = 2) and in those with Sertoli-cell-only syndrome (SCOS, n = 10). These data indicate for the first time that survivin is expressed in human testis. Moreover, its expression seems to correlate with the stage of maturation arrest in patients presenting with spermatogenic disorders. Survivin mRNA expression was not found in SCOS specimens, possibly indicating germ-cell-specific expression in human testicular tissue. Thus, survivin is a potential molecular marker of spermatogenesis, whose expression is altered in specific spermatogenic disorders. FAU - Weikert, Steffen AU - Weikert S AD - Department of Urology, Charité- Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus B. Franklin, Berlin, Germany. steffen.weikert@medizin.fu-berlin.de FAU - Schrader, Mark AU - Schrader M FAU - Müller, Markus AU - Müller M FAU - Krause, Hans AU - Krause H