El-Domyati Moetaz M, Al-Din Abo-Bakr M, Barakat Manal T, El-Fakahany Hasan M, Xu Jiasen, Sakkas Denny
Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Andrology, Al-Minya Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minya, Egypt.
Fertil Steril. 2009 May;91(5 Suppl):2221-9. doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.03.027. Epub 2008 Apr 28.
To explore the relationship between men's age and DNA damage repair proteins related to apoptosis in human testicular germ cells.
Retrospective case-control study.
Academic institutions.
PATIENT(S): Testicular specimens were obtained from 22 fertile volunteers aged 20-82 years.
INTERVENTION(S): Deoxyribonucleic acid repair markers were assessed using immunohistochemical staining for the cell proliferation marker [proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)]; DNA repair markers [poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), poly(adenosine diphosphate-ribose) (PAR), X-ray repair cross-complementing1(XRCC1), and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1)]; and apoptosis-associated markers (caspase 9, active caspase 3, and cleaved PARP-1).
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The prevalence and cellular localization of the above markers in testicular tissues of young, middle aged, and old men.
RESULT(S): Statistically significant differences in DNA damage repair-associated proteins (PARP-1, PAR, XRCC1, and APE1), and apoptosis markers (caspase 9, active caspase 3, and cleaved PARP-1) were observed in testicular samples from older men. These differences were most marked in spermatocytes.
CONCLUSION(S): The study demonstrates that there is an age-related increase in human testicular germ cell DNA break repair and apoptosis with age.
