Sperm Telomere Length in Men with Normal and Abnormal semen Parameters. A Pilot Study

Abstract

Objective: Male infertility is a growing social problem. The measurement of telomere length may be a new marker that can help to assess reproductive age of males and assess the chances of in vitro fertilization. Aim:The aim of our study was to investigate whether there are any differences between telomere length in men with normal and abnormal semen parameters. Materials and Methods:Telomere length was analyzed in 17 patients with normal and 28 patients with abnormal semen parameters using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol and Quantitative Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR).Results: Mean sperm telomere length in all donors was 49±24kbp per haploid genome. However, patients with abnormal semen parameters had significantly longer telomeres compared with patients with normal semen parameters. Higher variability in sperm telomere length was observed in patients with abnormal semen parameters in comparison to patients with normozoospermia. Conclusion:The results suggest that telomere length assessment may be a useful future marker that may help to assess sperm cell fertilization capacity.