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Exposure to PCB and p,p '-DDE in European and Inuit populations: impact on human sperm chromatin integrity

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Author

  • M Spano
  • G Toft
  • L Hagmar
  • P Eleuteri
  • M Rescia
  • Anna Rignell-Hydbom
  • E Tyrkiel
  • V Zvyezday
  • JP Bonde

Summary, in English

BACKGROUND: Persistent organochlorine pollutants ( POP), such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE), are widely found in the environment and considered potential endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDC). Their impact on male fertility is still unknown. METHODS: To explore the hypothesis that POP is associated with altered sperm chromatin integrity, a cross-sectional study involving 707 adult males ( 193 Inuits from Greenland, 178 Swedish fishermen, 141 men from Warsaw, Poland, and 195 men from Kharkiv, Ukraine) was carried out. Serum levels of 2,2', 4,4', 5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (CB-153), as a proxy of the total PCB burden, and of p,p'-DDE were determined. Sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) was used to assess sperm DNA/chromatin integrity. RESULTS: We found a strong and monotonically increasing DNA fragmentation index with increasing serum levels of CB-153 among European but not Inuit men, reaching a 60% higher average level in the highest exposure group. No significant associations were found between SCSA-derived parameters and p,p'-DDE serum concentrations. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that human dietary PCB exposure might have a negative impact on the sperm chromatin integrity of adult males but additional issues, including differences in the genetic background and lifestyle habits, still need to be elucidated.

Publishing year

2005

Language

English

Pages

3488-3499

Publication/Series

Human Reproduction

Volume

20

Issue

12

Document type

Journal article review

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Topic

  • Environmental Health and Occupational Health

Keywords

  • sperm chromatin
  • SCSA
  • polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
  • DDT
  • DNA damage

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0268-1161