Sperm DNA: organization, protection and vulnerability: from basic science to clinical applications--a position report.
This article reports the results of the most recent in a series of EHSRE workshops designed to synthesize the current state of the field in Andrology and provide recommendations for future work (for details see Appendix). Its focus is on methods for detecting sperm DNA damage and potential application of new knowledge about sperm chromatin organization, vulnerability and repair to improve the diagnosis and treatment of clinical infertility associated with that damage. Equally important is the use and reliability of these tests to identify the extent to which environmental contaminants or pharmaceutical agents may contribute to the incidence of sperm DNA damage and male fertility problems. A working group (for workshop details, see Appendix) under the auspices of ESHRE met in May 2009 to assess the current knowledgebase and suggest future basic and clinical research directions. This document presents a synthesis of the working group's understanding of the recent literature and collective discussions on the current state of knowledge of sperm chromatin structure and function during fertilization. It highlights the biological, assay and clinical uncertainties that require further research and ends with a series of 5 key recommendations.
Reproductive and Developmental Biology, Maternal and Child Health Science Laboratories, Centre for Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Ninewells Hospital, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK. c.barratt@dundee.ac.uk
Christopher L R
CL
Barratt
R John
RJ
Aitken
Lars
L
Björndahl
Douglas T
DT
Carrell
Peter
P
de Boer
Ulrik
U
Kvist
Sheena E M
SE
Lewis
Sally D
SD
Perreault
Melissa J
MJ
Perry
Liliana
L
Ramos
Bernard
B
Robaire
Steven
S
Ward
Armand
A
Zini
D000818:Animals; D002843:Chromatin / Q000235:genetics; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
D002843:Chromatin; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D004247:DNA; D015032:Zinc