System analysis of teratozoospermia mRNA profile based on integrated bioinformatics tools

mRNA has an important role in spermatogenesis and the maintenance of fertility, and may act as a potential biomarker for the clinical diagnosis of infertility. In the present study, potential biomarkers associated with teratozoospermia were screened through systemic bioinformatics analysis. Initially, genome-wide expression profiles were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus and primary analysis was conducted using R software, which included preprocessing of raw microarray data, transformation between probe ID and gene symbol and identification of differentially expressed genes. Subsequently, a functional enrichment analysis was conducted using the Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery to investigate the biological processes involved in the development of teratozoospermia. Finally, a protein-protein interaction network of notable differentially expressed genes was constructed and cross-analysis performed for multiple datasets, to obtain a potential biomarker for teratozoospermia. It was observed that G protein subunit β 3, G protein subunit α o1 and G protein subunit g transducin 1 were upregulated and enriched using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) in the network and in cross analysis. Furthermore, ribosomal protein S3 (RPS3), RPS5, RPS6, RPS16 and RPS23 were downregulated and enriched using KEGG in teratozoospermia. In conclusion, the results of the present study identified several mRNAs involved in sperm morphological development, which may aid in the understanding and treatment of infertility.