Centre d'AMP Majorelle-Atoutbio, 95 Rue Ambroise Paré, 54000 Nancy, France.
Service de Médecine et Biologie du Développement et de la Reproduction, 38 Boulevard Jean Monnet, 44000 Nantes, France.
Genes (Basel). 2023 Feb 7;14(2):425. doi: 10.3390/genes14020425.
Male factors are suspected in around half cases of infertility, of which up to 40% are diagnosed as idiopathic. In the context of a continuously increased resort to ART and increased decline of semen parameters, it is of greatest interest to evaluate an additional potential biomarker of sperm quality. According to PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review of the literature selected studies evaluating telomere length in sperm and/or in leukocytes as a potential male fertility biomarker. Twenty-two publications (3168 participants) were included in this review of experimental evidence. For each study, authors determined if there was a correlation between telomere length and semen parameters or fertility outcomes. Of the 13 studies concerning sperm telomere length (STL) and semen parameters, ten found an association between short STL and altered parameters. Concerning the impact of STL on ART results, the data are conflicting. However, eight of the 13 included studies about fertility found significantly longer sperm telomeres in fertile men than in infertile men. In leukocytes, the seven studies reported conflicting findings. Shorter sperm telomeres appear to be associated with altered semen parameters or male infertility. Telomere length may be considered as a new molecular marker of spermatogenesis and sperm quality, and thus is related to male fertility potential. However, additional studies are needed to define the place of the STL in the assessment of individual fertility.
男性因素在大约一半的不孕病例中被怀疑是病因，其中高达 40%被诊断为特发性。在不断增加的对 ART 的依赖和精液参数下降的背景下，评估精子质量的另一个潜在生物标志物是最有趣的。根据 PRISMA 指南，本系统综述文献选择了评估精子和/或白细胞中端粒长度作为潜在男性生育力生物标志物的研究。本实验证据综述共纳入 22 项研究（3168 名参与者）。作者为每一项研究确定了端粒长度与精液参数或生育结局之间是否存在相关性。在 13 项关于精子端粒长度（STL）和精液参数的研究中，有 10 项研究发现短 STL 与参数改变有关。关于 STL 对 ART 结果的影响，数据存在矛盾。然而，关于生育力的 13 项纳入研究中的 8 项发现，在生育能力正常的男性中，精子端粒明显长于不孕男性。在白细胞中，7 项研究报告了相互矛盾的结果。较短的精子端粒似乎与精液参数改变或男性不育有关。端粒长度可被视为精子发生和精子质量的新分子标志物，因此与男性生育潜力有关。然而，需要进一步的研究来确定 STL 在个体生育力评估中的地位。
