TAp73 as a potential key for understanding male infertility: a mini-review.

Infertility is a significant global reproductive health issue, impacting 9% of couples, with male factors contributing to approximately 50% of cases. Infertility in men can be caused by genetics, lifestyle, obesity, or several diseases, like oligozoospermia. In oligozoospermia, one of the most common diseases in male infertility, sperm concentration is less than 15 million/ml, and is graded as moderate, mild, and severe according to the decreasing concentration. In males,, following the onset of puberty, a complex process occurs with the contribution of many genes and proteins, resulting in the production of spermatids through mitotic and meiotic divisions from spermatogonia, a process known as spermatogenesis. The well-known p53 family, including p53, p63, and p73 transcription factors, plays an important role during spermatogenesis. It has been shown that while sperm count increased in p53 and p63 knockout mice, abnormality in sperm morphology also increased. The isoform of p73 that contains only the transactivator domain is referred to as TAp73. A significant reduction in germ cell counts and sperm maturation due to deficiencies in the spermatogenesis process was observed in TAp73 knockout mice. Furthermore, a model for oligoasthenozoospermia, characterized by low sperm count and reduced motility, was developed by inhibiting TAp73. While the roles of p53 and p63 in spermatogenesis have been thoroughly explored, the precise function of TAp73 within this context remains unclear. This review aims to shed light on the potential importance of the TAp73 transcription factor in the development of oligozoospermia.