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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Reproduction
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1373774
This article is part of the Research Topic Genetic Etiology and Management for Infertility and Reproductive Diseases View all 4 articles

Identification of potential biomarkers and pathways for asthenozoospermia by bioinformatics analysis and experiments

Provisionally accepted
Hui Lu Hui Lu *Liqiang Zhao Liqiang Zhao Anguo Wang Anguo Wang Hailing Ruan Hailing Ruan Xiaoyan Chen Xiaoyan Chen Yejuan Li Yejuan Li Jiajia Hu Jiajia Hu Weiying Lu Weiying Lu Meifang Xiao Meifang Xiao
  • Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Asthenozoospermia, a type of male infertility, is primarily caused by dysfunctional sperm mitochondria. Despite previous bioinformatics analysis identifying potential key lncRNAs, miRNAs, hub genes, and pathways associated with asthenospermia, there is still a need to explore additional molecular mechanisms and potential biomarkers for this condition.We integrated data from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) (GSE22331, GSE34514, and GSE160749) and performed bioinformatics analysis to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between normozoospermia and asthenozoospermia. Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted to gain insights into biological processes and signaling pathways. Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) identified gene modules associated with asthenozoospermia. Expression levels of key genes were assessed using datasets and experimental data. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and correlation analysis identified pathways associated with the hub gene and explore the relationship between the ZNF764 and COQ9 and mitochondrial autophagy-related genes. Competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were constructed, and in vitro experiments using exosome samples were conducted to validate this finding.Results: COQ9 was identified as a marker gene in asthenozoospermia, involved in autophagy, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling, endocytosis, and cell cycle, etc. The ceRNA regulatory network (LINC00893/miR-125a-5p/COQ9) was constructed, and PCR demonstrated that LINC00893 and COQ9 were downregulated in asthenozoospermia, while miR-125a-5p and m6A methylation level of LINC00893 were upregulated in asthenozoospermia compared to normozoospermic individuals.The ceRNA regulatory network (LINC00893/miR-125a-5p/COQ9) likely plays a crucial role in the mechanism of asthenozoospermia. However, further functional experiments are needed to fully understand its significance.

    Keywords: Asthenozoospermia, WGCNA, GSEA, Autophagy, M6A

    Received: 20 Jan 2024; Accepted: 10 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lu, Zhao, Wang, Ruan, Chen, Li, Hu, Lu and Xiao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hui Lu, Hainan Women and Children's Medical Center, Haikou, China

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