Bulky DNA adducts in human sperm associated with semen parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile men: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: DNA adducts are widely used marker of DNA damage induced by environmental pollutants. The present study was designed to explore whether sperm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts were associated with sperm DNA integrity and semen quality. METHODS: A total of 433 Han Chinese men were recruited from an infertility clinic. Immunofluorescence was applied to analyze sperm PAH-DNA adducts. Sperm DNA fragmentation was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (Tdt)-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assay. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders using linear regression, sperm PAH-DNA adducts were negatively associated with sperm concentration, total sperm count, sperm motility, and curvilinear velocity (VCL). In addition, a positive relationship between sperm PAH-DNA adducts and sperm DNA fragmentation was found. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggested an inverse association between sperm PAH-DNA adducts and semen quality, and provided the first epidemiologic evidence of an adverse effect of PAH-DNA adducts on sperm DNA integrity.