title: Assessment of DNA integrity (COMET assay) in sperm cells of boron-exposed workers.
abstract: An extension of a male reproductive study conducted in a boric acid/borate production zone at Bandırma, Turkey, is presented. The relation between DNA-strand breaks (COMET assay, neutral and alkaline version) in sperm cells and previously described sperm quality parameters was investigated in boron-exposed males. A correlation between blood boron levels and mean DNA-strand breaks in sperm was weak, and DNA-strand breaks in sperm were statistically not different between control and exposed groups. Therefore, increasing boron exposures had no additional contribution in addition to already pre-existing DNA-strand breaks in the sperm cells. Weak but statistically significant correlations between DNA-strand breaks and motility/morphology parameters of sperm samples were observed in the neutral version of the COMET assay, while correlations between the same variables were statistically not significant in the alkaline version. A likely reason for these negative results, even in highly exposed humans, is that experimental exposures that had led to reproductive toxicity in animals were significantly higher than any boron exposures, which may be reached under realistic human conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, Turkey. duydu@pharmacy.ankara.edu.tr
authors.forename: Yalçin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Duydu
authors.forename: Nurşen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Başaran
authors.forename: Aylin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ustündağ
authors.forename: Sevtap
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aydin
authors.forename: Ulkü
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Undeğer
authors.forename: Osman Yavuz
authors.initials: OY
authors.lastname: Ataman
authors.forename: Kaan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aydos
authors.forename: Yalçin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Düker
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ickstadt
authors.forename: Britta Schulze
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Waltrup
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Golka
authors.forename: Hermann M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Bolt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001895:Boron / Q000097:blood / Q000633:toxicity*; D020552:Comet Assay; D053960:DNA Breaks / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D001895:Boron