MTHFR C677T polymorphism, GSTM1 deletion and male infertility: a possible suggestion of a gene–gene interaction?

Abstract

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a gene involved in the process of DNA synthesis and methylation. The MTHFR C677T polymorphism has been associated with male infertility. A prospective study was conducted on men seeking care at the infertility clinic in Milano to determine if the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with infertility, and if such an association is modified by a common deletion of one of the glutathione transferases, GSTM1. One year after enrolment, 46 subjects reported having had a child, while 59 were still childless. Subjects carrying the MTHFR C677T homozygous variant polymorphism were at increased risk of being infertile after 1-year follow-up (OR 3.7, 95% CI = 1.4–10.4); carriers of the homozygous variant MTHFR genotype and of a functional copy of GSTM1 appear to have a significantly higher risk of infertility (n=11; OR = 22.0 95% CI = 3.8–127.9) than subjects who carry the wild-type genotype for both genes. Such risk becomes non-significant when the GSTM1 deletion is also present (n=5; OR = 1.1 95% CI = 0.2–5.1). A possible explanation of this unexpected result could lie in the known involvement of glutathione transferases in the metabolic pathways of both methylation and transulfuration. The interaction found deserves confirmation and replication in a larger population, since it may be relevant to several chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Keywords: :

• Epidemiology
• metabolism
• fertility
• MTHFR
• GSTM1
• male

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge Dr Ragni for allowing access to the population of infertile men, and Raffaella Masucci and Luca Brenga for technical assistance. The study was performed with the support of a grant (No. 146) from the Istituto Nazionale Tumori.