Absence of microdeletions in the Y chromosome in patients with a history of cryptorchidism and azoospermia or oligospermia

Objective: To determine if cryptorchidism is associate with microdeletions of interval 6 of the Y chromosome, we evaluated this locus in men with a history of cryptorchidism with and without azoospermia or oligospermia and in a control group. Design: Clinical study. Setting: Academic research environment. Patient(s): Men in whom surgical treatment of cryptorchidism had been performed in childhood and healthy control male subjects. Intervention(s): None. Main Outcome Measure(s): Genotyping of interval 6 of the Y chromosome. Results(s): Analysing of semen obtained from men treated for cryptorchidism in childhood showed azoospermia or oligospermia in 14 of 38 (37%) men. No microdeletions were identified with polymerase chain reaction amplification of 17 distinct sequence tagged sites located on the long arm of the Y chromosome and the sex determining region on Y (SRY) gene. Conclusion(s): Microdeletions of interval 6 of the Y chromosome were not detected in either the formerly cryptorchid or in the healthy subjects. Although we cannot exclude the possibility of point mutations, we microdeletions involving interval 6 of the Y chromosome.