Decreased Expression of CDC25A in Azoospermia as the Etiology of Spermatogenesis Failure

Background: Spermatogenesis is a tightly regulated developmental process of male germ cells. The stages in spermatogenesis are mitosis, meiosis and spermiogenesis. One of the genes playing a role in meiosis is Cell Division Cycle 25A (CDC25A). De-creased expression of CDC25A is associated with failure of spermatogenesis and sperm retrieval. Infertility examination for azoospermia has been limited on histolog-ical examination. Hence, molecular research to find marker genes for infertility will improve the examination of testis biopsies. Methods: This research is a cross sectional study of 50 testicular biopsies with John-sen scoring categories from scoring 2 to 8. Analysis of mRNA expression used qPCR and protein expression using immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis with Spear-man correlation was considered significant at p<0.05. Results: The result showed that transcript level and protein expression of CDC25A decreased in score 5 of Johnsen scoring categories. Moderate Spearman rho correla-tion (r=0.546) between mRNA relative expression and protein expression of CDC25A was significant at p<0.01. Conclusion: Decreased expression of CDC25A is associated with meiotic arrest as the etiology of spermatogenic failure in many azoospermic men.