Human Reproduction, Vol. 17, No. 11, 2912-2918,
November 2002
© 2002 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
Assessment of sperm DNA integrity in workers exposed to styrene
1 Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Uomo e dell’Ambiente, University of Pisa, 2 Dipartimento di Prevenzione U.O. Igiene e Medicina del Lavoro, Local Health Unit, Versilia and 3 Dipartimento di Patologia Sperimentale, Biotecnologie Mediche, Infettivologia ed Epidemiologia, Sezione Igiene ed Epidemiologia, University of Pisa, Italy
BACKGROUND: Occupational exposure to toxic agents may cause infertility, congenital anomalies or death in offspring, but few studies have evaluated DNA integrity in germ cells of male workers. We investigated sperm DNA integrity in individuals occupationally exposed to styrene. METHODS AND RESULTS: Semen samples were obtained from 46 male workers exposed to styrene and 27 unexposed controls (age range 18–45 years). Exposed individuals had worked for at least 2 years in the last 5 years and continuously for 6 months in factories producing reinforced plastics. The Comet assay was performed to evaluate DNA integrity in sperm, as well as semen quality analysis to assess sperm concentration and morphology. There were no differences in the results of the standard semen analysis between exposed subjects and the reference group. However, we found a significant difference (P < 0.001) in sperm DNA damage by the Comet assay between exposed subjects and the reference group. CONCLUSIONS: The Comet assay proved to be sensitive in detecting an alteration in DNA integrity in germ cells of workers exposed to styrene. This finding contributes towards the understanding of the importance of male occupational exposure within the context of genetic risk assessment in humans.
Key words: Comet assay/DNA damage/occupational exposure/semen analysis/styrene
4 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Uomo e dell’Ambiente, University of Pisa, Via S. Giuseppe 22, 56126 Pisa, Italy. E-mail: l.migliore{at}geog.unipi.it
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