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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on August 27, 2004

Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/deh444
© 2004 by European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology
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Received May 6, 2004
Accepted July 9, 2004

Article

Urinary levels of insecticide metabolites and DNA damage in human sperm

John D. Meeker 1, Narendra P. Singh 2, Louise Ryan 3, Susan M. Duty 4, Dana B. Barr 5, Robert F. Herrick 1, Deborah H. Bennett 1, Russ Hauser 6*

1 Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA
2 Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
3 Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA
4 Nursing Program, School for Health Studies, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA
5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
6 Department of Environmental Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Simmons College, Boston, MA, USA; Vincent Memorial Obstetrics and Gynecology Service, Andrology Laboratory and In Vitro Fertilization Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rhauser{at}hohp.harvard.edu.


   Abstract

BACKGROUND: Members of the general population are exposed to non-persistent insecticides at low levels. The present study explored whether environmental exposures to carbaryl and chlorpyrifos are associated with DNA damage in human sperm. METHODS: Subjects (n=260) were recruited through a Massachusetts infertility clinic. Individual exposures were measured as spot urinary metabolite concentrations of chlorpyrifos [3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPY)] and carbaryl [1-naphthol (1N)], adjusted using specific gravity. Sperm DNA integrity was assessed by neutral comet assay and reported as comet extent, percentage DNA in comet tail (Tail%) and tail distributed moment (TDM). RESULTS: A statistically significant increase in Tail% was found for an interquartile range (IQR) increase in both 1N [coefficient = 4.1; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9-6.3] and TCPY (2.8; 0.9-4.6), while a decrease in TDM was associated with IQR changes in 1N (-2.2; -4.9 to 0.5) and TCPY (-2.5; -4.7 to -0.2). A negative correlation between Tail% and TDM was present only when stratified by comet extent, suggesting that Tail% and TDM may measure different types of DNA damage within comet extent strata. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental exposure to carbaryl chlorpyrifos may be associated with increased DNA damage in human sperm, as indicated by a change in comet assay parameters.

Keywords: comet assay; DNA damage; exposure; insecticides.
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