title: Xenobiotic activity in serum and sperm chromatin integrity in European and inuit populations.
abstract: Lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are ubiquitous in the environment and suspected to interfere with hormone activities and reproduction. In previous studies we demonstrated that POP exposure can affect sperm DNA integrity and differences between Inuits and Europeans in sperm DNA integrity and xenobiotic activity were observed. The aim of this study was to investigate possible relations between human sperm chromatin integrity and the xenobiotic serum activity of lipophilic POPs assessed as effects on the estrogen (ER), androgen (AR), and/or aryl hydrocarbon (AhR) receptors. Human sperm chromatin integrity was assessed as DNA fragmentation index (%DFI) and high DNA stainability (%HDS) using the flow cytometric sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Xenobiotic receptor activities were determined using chemically activated luciferase gene expression (CALUX) assay. The study included 53 Greenlandic Inuits and 247 Europeans (Sweden, Warsaw (Poland) and Kharkiv (Ukraine)). A heterogeneous pattern of correlations was found. For Inuits, ER and AhR activities and %DFI were inversely correlated, whereas a positive correlation between AR activity and %DFI was found for Europeans. In contrast, no correlation between receptor activities and %HDS was observed for Inuits but for Europeans positive and negative correlations were observed between ER and AR activities and %HDS, respectively. We suggest that the different patterns of xenobiotic serum activities, in combination with diet associated factors and/or genetics, might be connected to the observed differences in sperm chromatin integrity between the Inuits and Europeans.
authors: Institute of Public Health, Unit of Cellular and Molecular Toxicology, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Krüger
authors: Marcello
authors: M
authors: Spanò
authors: Manhai
authors: M
authors: Long
authors: Patrizia
authors: P
authors: Eleuteri
authors: Michele
authors: M
authors: Rescia
authors: Philip S
authors: PS
authors: Hjelmborg
authors: Gian-Carlo
authors: GC
authors: Manicardi
authors: Davide
authors: D
authors: Bizzaro
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Giwercman
authors: Gunnar
authors: G
authors: Toft
authors: Jens Peter
authors: JP
authors: Bonde
authors: Eva C
authors: EC
authors: Bonefeld-Jorgensen
mesh_terms: D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D053938:DNA Fragmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000097:blood* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D015262:Xenobiotics