Dataset Information

A germ cell-specific ageing pattern in otherwise healthy men.

ABSTRACT: Life-long sperm production leads to the assumption that male fecundity remains unchanged throughout life. However, recently it was shown that paternal age has profound consequences for male fertility and offspring health. Paternal age effects are caused by an accumulation of germ cell mutations over time, causing severe congenital diseases. Apart from these well-described cases, molecular patterns of ageing in germ cells and their impact on DNA integrity have not been studied in detail. In this study, we aimed to assess the effects of 'pure' ageing on male reproductive health and germ cell quality. We assembled a cohort of 198 healthy men (18-84 years) for which end points such as semen and hormone profiles, sexual health and well-being, and sperm DNA parameters were evaluated. Sperm production and hormonal profiles were maintained at physiological levels over a period of six decades. In contrast, we identified a germ cell-specific ageing pattern characterized by a steady increase of telomere length in sperm and a sharp increase in sperm DNA instability, particularly after the sixth decade. Importantly, we found sperm DNA methylation changes in 236 regions, mostly nearby genes associated with neuronal development. By in silico analysis, we found that 10 of these regions are located in loci which can potentially escape the first wave of genome-wide demethylation after fertilization. In conclusion, human male germ cells present a unique germline-specific ageing process, which likely results in diminished fecundity in elderly men and poorer health prognosis for their offspring.

SUBMITTER: Laurentino S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7576283 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A germ cell-specific ageing pattern in otherwise healthy men.

Laurentino Sandra S Cremers Jann-Frederik JF Horsthemke Bernhard B Tüttelmann Frank F Czeloth Karen K Zitzmann Michael M Pohl Eva E Rahmann Sven S Schröder Christopher C Berres Sven S Redmann Klaus K Krallmann Claudia C Schlatt Stefan S Kliesch Sabine S Gromoll Jörg J

Aging cell 20200920 10

Life-long sperm production leads to the assumption that male fecundity remains unchanged throughout life. However, recently it was shown that paternal age has profound consequences for male fertility and offspring health. Paternal age effects are caused by an accumulation of germ cell mutations over time, causing severe congenital diseases. Apart from these well-described cases, molecular patterns of ageing in germ cells and their impact on DNA integrity have not been studied in detail. In this ...[more]

PMID: 32951333

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Project description:INTRODUCTION:It is unknown whether male body dissatisfaction is related to anxiety and depression. This study investigates whether there is an association between body dissatisfaction and self-reported anxiety and/or depression in otherwise healthy adult males. METHOD:A systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses as the reporting guideline. Four databases including CINAHL complete, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition, MEDLINE and PsycINFO were searched for observational studies with a correlational design. Studies were appraised using the Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies to measure quality and risk of bias. Data were extracted from studies to analyse and synthesise findings using content analysis and random effects meta-analyses in male body dissatisfaction and anxiety, depression, and both anxiety and depression. RESULTS:Twenty-three cross-sectional studies were included in the review. Nineteen studies found positive correlations between male body dissatisfaction and anxiety and/or depression. Meta-analyses of Pearson's correlation coefficients found statistically significant associations with body satisfaction for anxiety 0.40 (95% CI 0.28 to 0.51) depression 0.34 (95% CI 0.22 to 0.45) and both anxiety and depression outcomes 0.47 (95% CI 0.33 to 0.59). The quality appraisal found study samples were homogeneous being mostly ascertained through academic institutions where participants were predominantly young, Caucasian and with relatively high educational attainment. Measures of body satisfaction focused predominantly on muscularity and thinness. DISCUSSION:This study provides the first pooled estimates of the correlation between body dissatisfaction and anxiety and depression in men. Findings need to be interpreted with respect to the samples and outcomes of the included studies. It is recommended that future research should increase the diversity of men in studies. Studies should measure a wider range of body dissatisfaction types found in men. CONCLUSION:The findings demonstrate that an association between male body dissatisfaction and anxiety and depression is likely to exist. Future research should address the temporal relationship between body dissatisfaction and anxiety and depression.

Project description:To evaluate the role of human bocavirus (hBoV) as a causative agent of respiratory disease, the importance of the viral load in respiratory disease type and severity and the pathogenicity of the different hBoV species, we studied all hBoV-positive nasopharyngeal samples collected from children who attended an emergency room for a respiratory tract infection during three winters (2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2013-2014). Human bocavirus was detected using the respiratory virus panel fast assay and real-time PCR. Of the 1,823 nasopharyngeal samples, 104 (5.7%) were positive for hBoV; a similar prevalence was observed in all three periods studied. Among hBoV-infected children, 53.8% were between 1-2 years old, and hBoV was detected alone in 57/104 (54.8%) cases. All of the detected hBoV strains belonged to genotype 1. The median hBoV load was significantly higher in samples containing strains with both the N546H and T590S mutations compared to other samples (p<0.05). Children with a single hBoV-1 infection more frequently had upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) than those who were co-infected (37.0% vs 17.8%, respectively, p = 0.04). The duration of hospitalization was longer among children with high viral loads than that observed among children with low viral loads (8.0 ±2.2 days vs 5.0 ±1.5 days, respectively, p = 0.03), and the use of aerosol therapy was more frequent among children with high viral loads than among those with low viral loads (77.1% vs 55.7%, respectively, p = 0.04). This study shows that hBoV is a relatively uncommon but stable infectious agent in children and that hBoV1 seems to be the only strain detected in Italy in respiratory samples. From a clinical point of view, hBoV1 seems to have in the majority of healthy children relatively low clinical relevance. Moreover, the viral load influences only the duration of hospitalization and the use of aerosol therapy without any association with the site of the respiratory disease.

Dataset Information

A germ cell-specific ageing pattern in otherwise healthy men.

Publications

A germ cell-specific ageing pattern in otherwise healthy men.

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