Lafuente R, Bosch-Rue E, Ribas-Maynou J, Alvarez J, Brassesco C, Amengual M J, Benet J, Garcia-Peiró A, Brassesco M
Centro de Infertilidad y Reproducción Humana (CIRH), Barcelona, Spain.
CIMAB, Centro de Infertilidad Masculina y Análisis de Barcelona, Edificio Eureka, Parc de Recerca de la UAB, Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
Andrologia. 2018 Mar;50(2). doi: 10.1111/and.12840. Epub 2017 Jul 11.
Several studies have associated telomere shortening with alterations in reproductive function. The objective of the present study was to determine telomere length (TL) in spermatozoa selected by either density-gradient centrifugation (DGC) or swim-up. The analysis of TL was performed using quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridisation (qFISH) using PNA probes in combination with a chromatin decompaction protocol in sperm cells. Results of TL were 24.64 ± 5.00 Kb and 24.95 ± 4.60 Kb before and after DGC, respectively, and 19.59 ± 8.02 Kb and 20.22 ± 5.18 Kb before and after swim-up respectively. Sperm selected by DGC or swim-up did not show any significant differences in TL as compared to nonselected sperm (p > .05). Negative correlations between TL and sperm motility (r = -.308; p = .049) and concentration (r = -.353; p = .028) were found. Furthermore, exposure of sperm to increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide during incubation resulted in a reduction in TL. These data indicate that oxidative stress may be one of the main factors involved in the reduction of TL in sperm. Preliminary clinical results from patients included in this study indicate that TL was shorter in spermatozoa from couples who never achieved a pregnancy compared to couples who did achieve at least one natural pregnancy (p < .05); however, the clinical utility of this biomarker still needs to be confirmed in further studies.
多项研究已将端粒缩短与生殖功能改变联系起来。本研究的目的是确定通过密度梯度离心（DGC）或上游法筛选的精子中的端粒长度（TL）。使用定量荧光原位杂交（qFISH）结合精子细胞中的染色质解压缩方案对TL进行分析。DGC前后的TL结果分别为24.64±5.00 Kb和24.95±4.60 Kb，上游法前后分别为19.59±8.02 Kb和20.22±5.18 Kb。与未筛选的精子相比，通过DGC或上游法筛选的精子在TL上没有显示出任何显著差异（p>.05）。发现TL与精子活力（r = -.308；p = .049）和浓度（r = -.353；p = .028）之间存在负相关。此外，在孵育过程中使精子暴露于浓度不断增加的过氧化氢会导致TL降低。这些数据表明氧化应激可能是精子TL降低的主要因素之一。本研究中纳入患者的初步临床结果表明，与至少实现一次自然妊娠的夫妇相比，从未怀孕的夫妇的精子中TL较短（p<.05）；然而，这种生物标志物的临床效用仍需要在进一步研究中得到证实。
