De novo mutations are known to play a prominent role in sporadic disorders with reduced fitness. We hypothesize that de novo mutations play an important role in severe male infertility and explain a portion of the genetic causes of this understudied disorder. To test this hypothesis, we utilize trio-based exome sequencing in a cohort of 185 infertile males and their unaffected parents. Following a systematic an...
Study question: What is the load, distribution and added clinical value of secondary findings (SFs) identified in exome sequencing (ES) of patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA)? Summary answer: One in 28 NOA cases carried an identifiable, medically actionable SF. What is known already: In addition to molecular diagnostics, ES allows assessment of clinically actionable disease-related gene variants tha...
Male infertility impacts millions of couples yet, the etiology of primary infertility remains largely unknown. A critical element of successful spermatogenesis is maintenance of genome integrity. Here, we present a genomic study of spermatogenic failure (SPGF). Our initial analysis (n=176) did not reveal known gene-candidates but identifed a potentially signifcant single-nucleotide variant (SNV) in X-linked ger...
Fertility preservation in the cancer setting, known as oncofertility, is a field that requires cross-disciplinary interaction between physicians, basic scientists, clinical researchers, ethicists, lawyers, educators, and religious leaders. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Oncofertility Consortium (OC) was formed to be a scientifically grounded, transparent, and altruistic resource, both intellec...