ART do not increase the risk of Y-chromosome microdeletion in 19 candidate genes at AZF regions.

Y-chromosome microdeletions (YCMs) have been found at a much higher rate in infertile men than fertile controls. A specific deletion in the azoospermia factor locus (AZF) at Yq11 is significantly associated with male infertility. Whether assisted reproductive technology (ART) increases the risk of YCM in ART-derived offspring remains unclear. In this study the occurrence of YCM in 199 fathers and their 228 sons (Chinese, Han ethnicity), including 85 offspring conceived by IVF, 73 by intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and 70 by natural conception, was investigated. Nineteen candidate genes related to YCM were analysed by multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification. We identified one de novo YCM from 70 naturally-conceived offspring and none from 158 ART-conceived offspring and found no statistical significance between these two groups. There was no statistically-significant difference in the detection rate of the father's Y-chromosome microdeletion group: IVF 10.7% (8/75), ICSI 3.2% (2/63), natural conception 8.2% (5/61). These results suggest that ART does not increase the risk of YCM in male offspring.