Evaluation of bovine sperm telomere length and association with semen quality

Iannuzzi, Alessandra; Valle, Giovanni Della; Russo, Marco; Longobardi, V.; Albero, G.; Canditiis, C. De; Kosior, Michal Andrzej; Pistucci, Ramona; Gasparrini, B.

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2020.09.019

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…For the second aim of the present work, we studied the relationship between pig sperm telomere length and quality measured as motility, morphology, viability, and DNA damage. To the best of our knowledge, sperm telomere length has been studied as a possible biomarker for human [ 12 , 13 ] and bull (in)fertility [ 37 ], but no reports have been published regarding pig sperm telomere length and sperm quality or fertility parameters. The results obtained in the present research showed no statistically significant correlation of sperm telomere length with motility, viability, morphology, or DNA fragmentation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Telomere length has been suggested to be an indicator of normal spermatogenesis, given the crucial role of telomeres during meiosis and their contribution to genome integrity [ 38 ]. In this regard, despite the lack of previous results in pigs, investigations conducted in humans and a work conducted in bull sperm reported a relationship between sperm telomere length and quality parameters such as motility, morphology, sperm count, and viability [ 13 , 15 , 37 ]. This topic, however, is the subject of controversial results, as other studies found no correlation between sperm telomere length and motility parameters in human sperm samples [ 9 , 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This could also apply to telomere length; as samples used in this research were commercial and came from AI-boars, they fell in the range of standard telomere length. Yet, a recent study in bovine showed that sperm telomere length measured through qPCR is associated to sperm quality parameters, the bulls showing shorter telomere length being unsuitable as sires [ 37 ]. Hence, differences may not only be attributed to the method or cohort, but also to species, as a distinct selection of animals may have been performed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Telomere Length in Pig Sperm Is Related to In Vitro Embryo Development Outcomes

Ribas-Maynou

Mateo‐Otero

Sanchez-Quijada

et al. 2022

Animals

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Telomere length has attracted much interest as a topic of study in human reproduction; furthermore, the link between sperm telomere length and fertility outcomes has been investigated in other species. This biomarker, however, has not been much explored in other animals, such as pigs, and whether it is related to sperm quality and fertility outcomes remains unknown. The present work aimed to determine the absolute value of telomere length in pig sperm, as well as its relationship to sperm quality parameters and embryo development. Telomere length was determined through quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (qFISH) in 23 pig sperm samples and data were correlated to quality parameters (motility, morphology, and viability) and in vitro fertilization outcomes. We found that the mean telomere length in pig sperm was 22.1 ± 3.6 kb, which is longer than that previously described in humans. Whilst telomere length was not observed to be correlated to sperm quality variables (p > 0.05), a significant correlation between telomere length and the percentage of morulae 6 days after in vitro fertilization was observed (rs = 0.559; 95%C.I. = (−0.007 to 0.854); p = 0.047). Interestingly, this correlation was not found when percentages of early blastocysts/blastocysts (rs = 0.410; 95%C.I. = (−0.200 to 0.791); p = 0.164) and of hatching/hatched blastocysts (rs = 0.356; 95%C.I. = (− 0.260 to 0.766); p = 0.233) were considered. Through the separation of the samples into two groups by the median value, statistically significant differences between samples with shorter telomeres than the median and samples with longer telomeres than the median were found regarding development to morula (11.5 ± 3.6 vs. 21.8 ± 6.9, respectively) and to early blastocyst/blastocysts (7.6 ± 1.4 vs. 17.9 ± 12.2, respectively) (p < 0.05). In the light of these results, sperm telomere length may be a useful biomarker for embryo development in pigs, as sperm with longer telomeres lead to higher rates of morulae and blastocysts.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Telomere Length in Pig Sperm Is Related to In Vitro Embryo Development Outcomes

Ribas-Maynou

Mateo‐Otero

Sanchez-Quijada

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…Recent studies have related telomere length (TL) to longevity (Brown et al, 2012) and welfare (Bateson, 2016; Beloor et al, 2010) in farm animals. In cattle, studies into TL have focused mainly on the Holstein Friesian breed (HFR) (Ilska‐Warner et al, 2019; Seeker et al, 2018b) and the blood matrix (Seeker et al, 2018a), providing little information about their ratio in other cattle breeds (Tilesi et al, 2010) and different biological matrix (Iannuzzi et al, 2020; Laubenthal et al, 2016).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of telomere length in Agerolese cattle breed, correlating blood and milk samples

et al. 2022

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Studies into telomere length in cattle are relatively recent and have focused mainly on the Holstein Friesian cattle breed, making it arduous to evaluate the correlation with ageing due to the early age of culling in this breed. Telomere length provides information about the productive lifespan and the quality of farm management, complying with the ‘One Health’ approach. This study evaluated telomere length in Agerolese cattle, an autochthonous dairy breed characterized by a long productive lifespan (13 years). Multiplex quantitative PCR estimated telomere length in DNA extracted from blood and milk matrices. Interestingly, the results showed longer telomeres in Agerolese (compared to the Holstein Friesian cattle control group), with a negative correlation between telomere length and increasing age and a synchronous trend between blood and milk samples, with a positive correlation between them.

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“…Sperm preparation either employing the swim-up or the density gradient method involves isolation of a sperm population with increased motility, longer telomeres and decreased percentage of DNA fragmentation [82]. As suggested also, the prepared sperm aliquot is enriched with spermatozoa displaying long telomeres [83].…”

Section: Opinions Regarding Telomeres and Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Role of Telomeres in Human Embryological Parameters. Opinions Regarding IVF

Anifandis

Σαμαρά

Simopoulou

et al. 2021

JDB

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Telomeres promote genome integrity by protecting chromosome ends from the activation of the DNA damage response and protecting chromosomes from the loss of coding sequences due to the end replication problem. Telomere length (TL) is progressively shortened as age progresses, thus resulting in cellular senescence. Therefore, TL is in strong adverse linear correlation with aging. Mounting evidence supports the notion that telomeres and male/female infertility are in a close relationship, posing the biology of telomeres as a hot topic in the era of human-assisted reproduction. Specifically, the length of sperm telomeres is gradually increasing as men get older, while the telomere length of the oocytes seems not to follow similar patterns with that of sperm. Nonetheless, the telomere length of the embryos during the cleavage stages seems to have a paternal origin, but the telomere length can be further extended by telomerase activity during the blastocyst stage. The latter has been proposed as a new molecular biomarker with strong predictive value regarding male infertility. As far as the role of telomeres in assisted reproduction, the data is limited but the length of telomeres in both gametes seems to be affected mainly by the cause of infertility rather than the assisted reproductive therapy (ART) procedure itself. The present review aims to shed more light into the role of telomeres in human embryological parameters, including gametes and embryos and also presents opinions regarding the association between telomeres and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

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Evaluation of bovine sperm telomere length and association with semen quality

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Telomere Length in Pig Sperm Is Related to In Vitro Embryo Development Outcomes

Telomere Length in Pig Sperm Is Related to In Vitro Embryo Development Outcomes

Characterization of telomere length in Agerolese cattle breed, correlating blood and milk samples

Insights into the Role of Telomeres in Human Embryological Parameters. Opinions Regarding IVF

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