title: B(a)P adduct levels and fertility: A cross‑sectional study in a Sicilian population.
abstract: Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) is a carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon for human tissues. Still today it is not fully investigated if BaP can affect negatively the male fertility through the BaP‑DNA adducts production. In the present study, BaP Tetrol I‑1 (TI‑1) and BaP Tetrol II‑2 (TII‑2) BaP‑DNA adducts were investigated in spermatozoa of a Sicilian male population. Semen samples from 86 volunteers in two eastern Sicilian cities (Regalbuto and Melilli) were collected. The quality of semen was evaluated in all samples according to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. We analyzed BaP‑DNA adducts in extracted sperm cell DNA using the modified high‑performance liquid chromatography‑fluorescence method to detects both Tetrols. Differences between Tetrol levels were assessed by the Wilcoxon signed‑rank test and the Mann‑Whitney U test, as appropriate. Correlation between semen quality parameters and Tetrol concentrations were analyzed using the Spearman's correlation coefficient. Σ(TI‑1+TII‑2) were significantly higher in spermatozoa of volunteers from Regalbuto. Furthermore, a greater dispersion of the levels of adducts was observed in these specimens. TI‑1 adducts were higher than TII‑2 in Melilli samples (95% CI) and TII‑2 were higher than TI‑1 in Regalbuto semen samples (95% CI). A significant inverse correlation between sperm progressive motility and both TI‑1 and TII‑2 adducts was observed. The present study showed that BaP negatively affects male fertility by TI‑1 and TII‑2 DNA‑adduct production. These results suggest that DNA adducts could be used as biomarker to assess BaP exposure by air pollution. Further studies are needed to confirm if these findings could affect male fertility because of the growing impairment of this function observed in recent years.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Food Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Gea
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Oliveri Conti
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldo Eugenio
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Calogero
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Giacone
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Food Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barchitta
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agodi
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Food Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies 'G.F. Ingrassia', University of Catania, I‑95123 Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferrante
mesh_terms: D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D018736:DNA Adducts / Q000032:analysis*; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012802:Sicily; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018736:DNA Adducts; C056612:benzo(a)pyrene-DNA adduct; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene