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

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. M...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human Reproduction
Main Authors: Spano, M, Toft, G, Hagmar, L, Eleuteri, P, Rescia, M, Rignell-Hydbom, Anna, Tyrkiel, E, Zvyezday, V, Bonde, JP
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2005
Subjects:
Environmental Health and Occupational Health
sperm chromatin
SCSA
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
DDT
DNA damage
Greenland
inuit
inuits
Online Access:https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/211620
https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dei297
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Summary: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.

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