Journal of Fertilization: In Vitro - IVF-Worldwide, Reproductive Medicine, Genetics & Stem Cell Biol
Open Access

Abstract

In silco Prediction of Target Genes for Up-Regulated MicroRNAs in Male Infertile Patients

Mushtaq Ahmad* and Aftab Ali Shah

MicroRNAs are small molecules that control expression post transcriptionally. Due to diversity in microRNAs and difficulty in experimental identification of target genes, the specific function of most microRNAs are not known. It is necessary to find their target mRNAs. Computational target prediction helps MiRNA-mRNA interactions for experimental studies. Infertility is an important health related problem. Approximately 10-15% of couples face infertility problem worldwide. About 50% of infertility issues are attributable to male factors. A large number of infertility cases are idiopathic, since their molecular mechanism is unknown. MicroRNAs are differentially expressed in male patients with complications in fertility. They are involved in regulating various reproductive processes such as embryogenesis and spermatogenesis. The current study was carried out to find out the important genes that are targets for up-regulated microRNAs in infertile patients. Up-regulated microRNAs reported by previous studies were searched and a list of up-regulated microRNAs in male infertile patients was obtained. Total 24 microRNAs were enlisted from various studies. To find out the target genes three online tools were used including microRNA Data Base (mir-DB), Targetscan (TS) and DIANA tools. In the final list those microRNAs-targets were included which were predicted by all the three target prediction tools (TPTs) and were present on the top 20 list of the respective TPTs. Also those microRNAs were included which were predicted by at least two software and were targets for more than one up-regulated microRNAs in infertile patients. In the result we created a list of 36 genes predicted by all the three TPTs and another list of 15 genes that are predicted targets of more than one microRNA. On the basis of our results it is stated that exploring the role of these genes might provide an important insight into the mechanism and reasons behind idiopathic male infertility.

Published Date: 2019-04-08; Received Date: 2019-01-20