Preconception urinary phthalate concentrations and sperm DNA methylation profiles among men undergoing IVF treatment: a cross-sectional study

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONAre preconception phthalate and phthalate replacements associated with sperm differentially methylated regions (DMRs) among men undergoing IVF?SUMMARY ANSWERTen phthalate metabolites were associated with 131 sperm DMRs that were enriched in genes related to growth and development, cell movement and cytoskeleton structure.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYSeveral phthalate compounds and their metabolites are known endocrine disrupting compounds and are pervasive environmental contaminants. Rodent studies report that prenatal phthalate exposures induce sperm DMRs, but the influence of preconception phthalate exposure on sperm DNA methylation in humans is unknown.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONAn exploratory cross-sectional study with 48 male participants from the Sperm Environmental Epigenetics and Development Study (SEEDS).PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSThe first 48 couples provided a spot urine sample on the same day as semen sample procurement. Sperm DNA methylation was assessed with the HumanMethylation 450 K array. Seventeen urinary phthalate and 1,2-Cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid diisononyl ester (DINCH) metabolite concentrations were measured from spot urine samples. The A-clust algorithm was employed to identify co-regulated regions. DMRs associated with urinary metabolite concentrations were identified via linear models, corrected for false discovery rate (FDR).MAIN RESULTS AND ROLE OF CHANCEAdjusting for age, BMI, and current smoking, 131 DMRs were assoc...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research