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Glutathione S-transferases gene polymorphisms and risk of male idiopathic infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

The Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) polymorphisms have been implicated in susceptibility to male idiopathic infertility, but study results are still controversial. To investigate the genetic associations between GSTs polymorphisms and risk of male idiopathic infertility, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed. Meta-analysis was performed by pooling odds ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95 % confidence interval (95 % CI) form studies in electronic databases up to March 16, 2012. Glutathione S-transferase M 1 (GSTM1) null genotype, Glutathione S-transferase T 1 (GSTT1) null genotype, and dual null genotype of GSTM1/GSTT1 were analyzed independently. 14 eligible studies with a total of 1,845 idiopathic infertility males and 1,729 controls were included. There were 13 studies on GSTM1 polymorphism, 10 ones on GSTT1 polymorphism and 5 ones on GSTM1-GSTT1 interaction analysis. Meta-analyses of total relevant studies showed GSTM1 null genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of male idiopathic infertility (OR = 1.40, 95 % CI 1.07–1.84, P OR = 0.015). The GSTM1-GSTT1 interaction analysis showed dual null genotype of GSTM1/GSTT1 was also significantly associated with increased risk of male idiopathic infertility (OR = 1.85, 95 % CI 1.07–3.21, P OR = 0.028). Subgroup analyses by ethnicity showed the associations above were still statistically significant in Caucasians (For GSTM1, OR = 1.51, 95 % CI 1.11–2.05, P OR = 0.009; For GSTM1/GSTT1, OR = 2.10, 95 % CI 1.51–2.91, P OR < 0.001). This meta-analysis suggests GSTM1 null genotype contributes to increased risk of male idiopathic infertility in Caucasians, and males with dual null genotype of GSTM1/GSTT1 are particularly susceptible to developing idiopathic infertility.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Natural Science Foundation Project of CQ CSTC (CSTC, 2010BB5170) and State Key Laboratory Open Project on Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury (SKLKF201007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urologic Institute of PLA, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Street, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Xin Li, Jinhong Pan, Enqing Xiong, Zhiwen Chen, Zhansong Zhou & Gensheng Lu

  2. Department of Urology, Kunming General Hospital of PLA, Kunming, China

    Qigui Liu

  3. State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Yongping Su

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  1. Xin Li
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  2. Jinhong Pan
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Correspondence to Gensheng Lu.

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11033_2012_2323_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplemental figure funnel plot for 13 studies investigating the association between GSTM1 null genotype and idiopathic infertility risk (The horizontal and vertical axis correspond to the OR and confidence limits. OR, odds ratio; SE, standard error) (DOCX 19 kb)

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Li, X., Pan, J., Liu, Q. et al. Glutathione S-transferases gene polymorphisms and risk of male idiopathic infertility: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Mol Biol Rep 40, 2431–2438 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-2323-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-012-2323-3

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