Investigation of sperm telomere length as a potential marker of paternal genome integrity and semen quality

Abstract

Recent studies have reported shorter sperm telomere length (STL) in men with idiopathic infertility. The aim of this study was to measure STL in semen samples from men to evaluate whether STL variation is associated with chromosomal abnormality, DNA fragmentation, traditional semen parameters, IVF outcome, or all four factors. A significant correlation between telomere length and diploidy was observed (P = 0.037). Additionally, STL was found to be positively associated with sperm count (P = 0.006); oligospermic samples had particularly short telomeres (0.9 ± 0.1 versus 1.4 ± 0.1; P = 0.0019). The results confirmed a link between sperm DNA fragmentation and aneuploidy, previously proposed (P = 0.009). A negative relationship was demonstrated between sperm concentration and aneuploidy and Sperm DNA framentation (P = 0.03, P < 0.0001, respectively). For a subset of 51 of the 73 sperm samples used for fertilization, IVF outcomes were known. A total of 17.6% of these samples had atypical STLs. None of these samples produced an ongoing pregnancy. In contrast, the pregnancy rate for samples that had STLs in the normal range was 35.7% (P = 0.044). In conclusion, STL has potential as a fast and inexpensive form of sperm quality assessment.

Relationship between sperm telomere length and sperm quality in infertile men

“…In this regard, significant correlations were reported between damaged DNA in spermatozoon with telomere length and protamine deficiency (Rocca et al, ; Tahamtan et al, ). Therefore, Cariati et al () proposed that assessment of sperm telomere length as a potential sign of chromatin integrity could be considered for infertile men (Cariati et al, ). On the other hand, a series of studies demonstrated that high level of oxidative stress can inversely effect DNA integrity and telomere length in spermatozoon (Cariati et al, ; Rocca et al, ; Tahamtan et al, ).…”

“…Therefore, Cariati et al () proposed that assessment of sperm telomere length as a potential sign of chromatin integrity could be considered for infertile men (Cariati et al, ). On the other hand, a series of studies demonstrated that high level of oxidative stress can inversely effect DNA integrity and telomere length in spermatozoon (Cariati et al, ; Rocca et al, ; Tahamtan et al, ). Therefore, we aimed to access these three main factors; DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency and lipid peroxidation (oxidative stress marker) in addition to telomere length in spermatozoa of fertile and infertile individuals.…”

Reactive oxygen species impact on sperm DNA and its role in male infertility

“…Although telomere length is partially determined genetically and by paternal age, it is also influenced by internal and external environmental factors such as obesity, infection, oxidative stress, smoking, psychological and lifestyle stress, environmental factors and diet (Thilagavathi et al., ). However, currently, analysing sperm telomere length is not a part of standard clinical practice due to some conflicting data surrounding its relationship with sperm DNA fragmentation, sperm parameters and reproductive outcomes (Cariati et al., ; Lafuente et al., ; Rocca et al., ; Turner & Hartshorne, ; WHO, ). Thus, the validity of telomere length as a diagnostic tool of infertility and OS has yet to be confirmed.…”

Shorter leukocyte telomere length is associated with risk of nonobstructive azoospermia

“…Some studies (16)(17)(18) reported that it was positively associated with sperm counts in semen. Another study (19) found that the sperm telomere length was negatively associated with sperm aneuploidy and DNA fragmentation. All of these studies showed that sperm telomere length was strongly associated with semen quality.…”