title: Sperm telomere length is positively associated with the quality of early embryonic development.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  What is the relationship between telomere length in sperm and early embryonic development in in vitro fertilization (IVF)?
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Sperm telomere length (STL) is positively associated with embryo quality in IVF.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have shown that STL differs among human males.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to determine the associations between STL, fertilization laboratory parameters and clinical pregnancy in IVF, 418 couples were recruited from August 2013 to August 2014.
  
  
  METHODS
  We collected semen samples and used quantitative PCR technique to detect the mean STL for each patient. These data were compared with the IVF outcomes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean STL was positively correlated with the age of patient (rP = 0.100; P = 0.041) and total sperm count/ejaculate (rp = 0.28; P < 0.001). Analysis of the age-adjusted mean STL in relation to the male patient's paternal and maternal ages at the time of his conception showed significant positive relationships between STL and both paternal (r = 0.16; P = 0.003) and maternal (r = 0.19; P < 0.001) ages at the time of conception. In addition, significant correlations were found between STL and good quality embryo (regression coefficient: 1.63; P < 0.001) and transplantable embryo rates (regression coefficient: 1.57; P < 0.001), but clinical pregnancy rates were not affected (odds ratio = 1.00 [95% CI: 0.93-1.07]; P = 0.90).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study showed that STL was positively associated with embryo quality in IVF. Additional studies are needed to confirm these observations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  STL has the potential to be used as a marker for the prediction of embryonic quality.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants 31271605 and 31471404), and the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (Grant 31401274), and Science Foundation of First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University for Yong Scientists. The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Qingling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shanjun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Wanli
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Reproductive Medical Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China syp2008@vip.sina.com.
authors.forename: Yingpu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D018873:Pregnancy Rate; D013076:Sperm Count; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
keywords: embryo quality; in vitro fertilization; infertility; sperm; telomere length