Transcriptomic differences between fibrotic and non-fibrotic testicular tissue reveal possible key players in Klinefelter syndrome-related testicular fibrosis

In this study, two gene expression analyses were performed. The first analysis, comparing the DEGs between fibrotic and non-fibrotic tissue, revealed genes which may play a role in testicular fibrosis, including VCAM1. In addition, this analysis revealed a pertinent role for genes involved in the TGF-β1 pathway. Secondly, a differential gene expression analysis between KS and TA samples was performed. GO analysis revealed genes involved in the chronic inflammatory responses. When comparing the X-linked genes of the first analysis (fibrotic versus non-fibrotic) with those of the second analysis (KS versus TA), X-linked fibrotic genes involved in KS revealed, i.e. MXRA5, DCX and VCX3B. Their potential role in KS-related testicular fibrosis needs further study. Transcriptome analysis on extracted RNA from testicular biopsies from patients with and without testicular fibrosis