Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2009 Sep-Oct;26(9-10):537-44.
doi: 10.1007/s10815-009-9346-2. Epub 2009 Oct 30.

Oxidative DNA damage impairs global sperm DNA methylation in infertile men

Ozlem Tunc  1 , Kelton Tremellen
Affiliations

Oxidative DNA damage impairs global sperm DNA methylation in infertile men

Ozlem Tunc et al. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2009 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Methylation of sperm DNA is impaired in many infertile men potentially adversely effecting reproductive outcomes. In somatic cells oxidative damage to DNA and hyperhomocysteinaemia are linked with DNA hypomethylation. The objective of this study was to investigate if these pathologies also impair sperm DNA methylation.

Methods: The relationship between sperm DNA quality, oxidative stress and serum homocysteine was analysed at study entry and after 3 months of antioxidant treatment.

Results: Overall a significant negative correlation was observed between sperm DNA methylation and sperm DNA fragmentation, as well as seminal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Sperm DNA methylation was not significantly related to serum homocysteine concentrations. Administration of an antioxidant supplement produced a significant fall in seminal ROS levels and sperm DNA fragmentation, while increasing sperm DNA methylation.

Conclusions: These results suggest that oxidative stress related damage to sperm DNA impedes the process of methylation, while antioxidant supplementation appears to have the potential to reduce DNA damage and normalize sperm DNA methylation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relationship between sperm global DNA methylation with sperm DNA fragmentation (a) and seminal ROS production (b). Statistical analysis was performed using the Spearman Rank Order correlation test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1086/341096', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1086/341096'}, {'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC384973', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC384973/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '12016591', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12016591/'}]}
    2. Cox GF, et al. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection may increase the risk of imprinting defects. Am J Hum Genet. 2002;71(1):162–4. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1016/S0140-6736(03)13592-1', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(03)13592-1'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '12801753', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12801753/'}]}
    2. Gosden R, et al. Rare congenital disorders, imprinted genes, and assisted reproductive technology. Lancet. 2003;361(9373):1975–7. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1086/346031', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1086/346031'}, {'type': 'PMC', 'value': 'PMC378620', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC378620/'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '12439823', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12439823/'}]}
    2. DeBaun MR, Niemitz EL, Feinberg AP. Association of in vitro fertilization with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome and epigenetic alterations of LIT1 and H19. Am J Hum Genet. 2003;72(1):156–60. - PMC - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1055/s-2008-1042953', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1042953'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '18302106', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18302106/'}]}
    2. Lawrence LT, Moley KH. Epigenetics and assisted reproductive technologies: human imprinting syndromes. Semin Reprod Med. 2008;26(2):143–52. - PubMed
    1. {'text': '', 'ref_index': 1, 'ids': [{'type': 'DOI', 'value': '10.1126/science.1137544', 'is_inner': False, 'url': 'https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1137544'}, {'type': 'PubMed', 'value': '17446388', 'is_inner': True, 'url': 'https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17446388/'}]}
    2. Schaefer CB, et al. Epigenetic decisions in mammalian germ cells. Science. 2007;316(5823):398–9. - PubMed

Publication types