Skip Navigation



Hum. Reprod. Advance Access published online on September 18, 2006
Human Reproduction, doi:10.1093/humrep/del193
This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
21/11/2901    most recent
del193v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Zubkova, E. V.
Right arrow Articles by Robaire, B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Zubkova, E. V.
Right arrow Articles by Robaire, B.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org
Received March 23, 2006
Revised May 2, 2006
Accepted May 5, 2006

Article

Effects of ageing on spermatozoal chromatin and its sensitivity to in vivo and in vitro oxidative challenge in the Brown Norway rat

Ekaterina V. Zubkova 1 and Bernard Robaire 2 *

1 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Bernard Robaire, E-mail: bernard.robaire{at}mcgill.ca


  Abstract

BACKGROUND: The goals of our study were to examine chromatin packaging and integrity in spermatozoa taken from the caput and cauda epididymides of young (4-month-old) and old (21-month-old) Brown Norway rats and to assess whether spermatozoal sensitivity to oxidative treatments is altered with age. METHODS: Oxidative treatments consisted of (i) in vivo oxidative challenge by systemic administration of the glutathione-depleting drug L-buthionine-[S,R]-sulphoximine (BSO) and (ii) in vitro oxidative challenge by incubating collected spermatozoa with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Chromatin parameters assessed included quantification of thiols, nuclear chromomycin A3 (CMA3) penetration, DNA breaks by TdT (terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase)-mediated dUDP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) and ease of DNA dissociation by acridine orange (AO) staining. RESULTS: In spermatozoa from older rats, we found decreases in thiols, CMA3 penetration and the percentage of cells that undergo DNA dissociation. Administration of BSO had oxidizing effects on the thiol groups. It also decreased CMA3 penetration and DNA dissociation and increased TUNEL staining. Furthermore, BSO treatment sensitized cauda epididymidis spermatozoa, from older animals, to H2O2. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we show that spermatozoa from older rats have altered chromatin packaging and integrity and that spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis are more responsive to combined in vivo and in vitro oxidative challenge than spermatozoa from young rats.

Keywords: DNA damage/sperm biochemistry/sperm chromosomes/sperm quality.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Hum ReprodHome page
C. O'Flaherty, F. Vaisheva, B.F. Hales, P. Chan, and B. Robaire
Characterization of sperm chromatin quality in testicular cancer and Hodgkin's lymphoma patients prior to chemotherapy
Hum. Reprod., May 1, 2008; 23(5): 1044 - 1052.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Schizophr BullHome page
M. C. Perrin, A. S. Brown, and D. Malaspina
Aberrant Epigenetic Regulation Could Explain the Relationship of Paternal Age to Schizophrenia
Schizophr Bull, November 1, 2007; 33(6): 1270 - 1273.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J AndrolHome page
G. Delbes, B. F. Hales, and B. Robaire
Effects of the Chemotherapy Cocktail Used to Treat Testicular Cancer on Sperm Chromatin Integrity
J Androl, March 1, 2007; 28(2): 241 - 249.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.