Genetic causation for the majority of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) remains unclear. Mutations in synaptonemal complex (SC)-associated genes could cause meiotic arrest and NOA. Previous studies showed that heterozygous truncating variants in SYCP2 encoding a protein essential for SC formation, are associated with non-obstructive azoospermia and severe oligozoospermia. Herein, we showed a homozygous loss-of-function variant in SYCP2 (c.2689_2690insT) in an NOA-affected patient. And this variant was inherited from heterozygous parental carriers by natural reproduction. HE, IF, and meiotic chromosomal spread analyses demonstrated that spermatogenesis was arrested at the zygotene stage in the proband with NOA. Thus, this study revealed that SYCP2 associated with NOA segregates in an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, rather than an autosomal dominant pattern. Furthermore, our study expanded the knowledge of variants in SYCP2 and provided new insight into understanding the genetic etiology of NOA.
Keywords: NOA; SYCP2; gene variant; inheritance pattern; male infertility; meiosis; synaptonemal complex.
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