الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Background: Male factor infertility affects almost half of infertile couples. Infection and inflammation of the male genital tract including the testis are accepted as important etiological factors of infertility in men. Interleukin 17 is a specific cytokine for T helper 17 cells which had been shown to be involved in inflammatory diseases. Aim of study: To add more insight to the role played by Th17 in infertility, by studying the expression of IL-17 in the testicular biopsies of azoospermic patients. It also aimed to analyze the relationship between IL-17 and the testicular pathology. Patients and methods: This study included 62 infertile males, classified in 3 groups. The first group included 25 patients complaining of functional azoospermia whose semen analysis were normozoospermic and deteriorated to azoospermia, the second group included 25 patients complaining of obstructive azoospermia. 12 normozoospermic controls in the third group who failed to provide a semen sample on the day of ICSI examined for IL-17 by PCR & immunohistochemistry |