Fertility and Sterility
Volume 93, Issue 3 , Pages 795-801, February 2010

The expression and distribution of deoxyribonucleic acid repair and apoptosis markers in testicular germ cells of infertile varicocele patients resembles that of old fertile men

Presented in part at the 24th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, July 6–9, 2008, Barcelona, Spain.

  • Moetaz M. El-Domyati, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Andrology, Al-Minya Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minya, Egypt
    • ,
  • Abo-Bakr M. Al-Din, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of General Surgery, Al-Minya Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minya, Egypt
    • ,
  • Manal T. Barakat, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Andrology, Al-Minya Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minya, Egypt
    • ,
  • Hasan M. El-Fakahany, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Dermatology, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and Andrology, Al-Minya Faculty of Medicine, Al-Minya, Egypt
    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
    • ,
  • Stanton Honig, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Urology Center, New Haven, Connecticut
    • ,
  • Jiasen Xu, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
    • ,
  • Denny Sakkas, Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Denny Sakkas, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Yale University School of Medicine, 300 George Street, 7th Floor (Room 770H), New Haven CT 06511 (Fax: 203-785-7134).

Received 28 June 2008; received in revised form 14 October 2008; accepted 17 October 2008. published online 04 December 2008.

Objective

To explore the expression and distribution of DNA damage repair and apoptosis marker proteins in human testicular germ cells of infertile varicocele patients; and to compare the expression and distribution with that of young and old fertile men.

Design

Retrospective case–control study.

Setting

Academic institutions.

Patient(s)

Testicular specimens were obtained from 8 infertile varicocele patients aged 20–30 years and from 16 fertile volunteers aged 20–82 years.

Intervention(s)

Testicular germ cell DNA repair markers were assessed using immunohistochemical staining for the cell proliferation marker (proliferating cell nuclear antigen), DNA repair markers [poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1), poly(ADP-ribose), X-ray repair cross-complementing 1, and apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1], and apoptosis markers (caspase 9, active caspase 3, and cleaved PARP-1).

Main Outcome Measure(s)

The prevalence and cellular localization of the above markers in testicular tissues of varicocele patients and fertile men of varying ages.

Result(s)

Statistically significant differences in DNA damage repair–associated proteins and apoptosis markers were observed in infertile men with varicocele compared with fertile young men. Old fertile men showed similar expression of the same markers when compared with infertile varicocele patients.

Conclusion(s)

The study demonstrates that there is an increase in human testicular germ cell DNA repair and apoptosis in infertile varicocele patients and that their profile resembles that of premature aging.

Key Words: Aging, DNA repair, varicocele, apoptosis, germ cells, PARP-1, caspase

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 M.M.E. has nothing to disclose. A.-B.M.A. has nothing to disclose. M.T.B. has nothing to disclose. H.M.E. has nothing to disclose. S.H. has nothing to disclose. J.X. has nothing to disclose. D.S. is employed part time by Molecular Biometrics.

 H.M.E. is supported by a fellowship from the Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau.

PII: S0015-0282(08)04273-8

doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.10.031

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 93, Issue 3 , Pages 795-801, February 2010

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