Association between HLA-DR and DQ alleles and male infertility

HLA alleles might predispose to non-immunological male infertility by conferring genetic susceptibility to disorders of spermatogenesis and the genital tract. An investigation was made of the frequency of the HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQB1 alleles in male partners of infertile couples. Semen samples from 58 patients were used for DNA-based HLA typing using the polymerase chain reaction and sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP). Frequencies of HLA-DRB1*04, 010, 011, 015, 0301 and HLA-DQB1*-03 alleles were found to be significantly higher in oligozoospermic patients than in the control population while the HLA-DRB1*01301 allele was significantly lower. There was no significant association between any of the HLA-DRB 1 or DQB1 alleles and ejaculate sperm density.