ArticleScientific reports2019
Reduced sperm telomere length in individuals with varicocele is associated with reduced genomic integrity.
Article in Scientific reports, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sperm DNA fragmentation and its influence on mammalian reproduction.Nature reviews. Urology · 2026Review
- Sperm DNA Fragmentation in Men with Varicocele: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The world journal of men's health · 2026Article
- TelOMpy enables single-molecule resolution of telomere length from optical genome mapping data.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Relative Telomere Length in Leukocytes as a Potential Biomarker of Male Idiopathic Infertility.Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2025Article
- Reduced SIRT1 and SIRT3 and Lower Antioxidant Capacity of Seminal Plasma Is Associated with Shorter Sperm Telomere Length in Oligospermic Men.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- Oxidative Stress, Telomere Length and Telomerase Activity in Spermatogenesis Disorders (Review of Scientific Activity).Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine · 2023Review
- New Insights on Sperm Function in Male Infertility of Unknown Origin: A Multimodal Approach.Biomolecules · 2023Article
- A pilot study of LINE-1 copy number and telomere length with aging in human sperm.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2023Article
- Male obesity is associated with sperm telomere shortening and aberrant mRNA expression of autophagy-related genes.Basic and clinical andrology · 2023Article
- Freezing Does Not Alter Sperm Telomere Length despite Increasing DNA Oxidation and Fragmentation.Genes · 2023Article
- Functional association between telomeres, oxidation and mitochondria.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2023Review
- Role of Oxidative Stress in Varicocele.Frontiers in genetics · 2022Review
- Telomere Length in Metaphase Chromosomes of Human Triploid Zygotes.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Telomere Length and Male Fertility.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Epidermal growth factor alleviates the negative impact of urea on frozen-thawed bovine sperm, but the subsequent developmental competence is compromised.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Telomere Signaling and Maintenance Pathways in Spermatozoa of Infertile Men Treated With Antioxidants: AnFrontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Article
- Effects of Environmental and Pathological Hypoxia on Male Fertility.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2021Review
- Sperm DNA Fragmentation: A New Guideline for Clinicians.The world journal of men's health · 2020Review
- Oxidation of Sperm Nucleus in Mammals: A Physiological Necessity to Some Extent with Adverse Impacts on Oocyte and Offspring.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- The Impact of Lifestyle on Sperm Function, Telomere Length, and IVF Outcomes.American journal of men's healthObservational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Varicocele, defined as enlarged varicose veins in the scrotum, is the most common identifiable cause of male infertility. There are significant correlations between oxidative stress and varicocele-related infertility due to testicular hyperthermia, which can result in low sperm function. In addition, recent excessive oxidative stress can affect sperm telomere length and integrity of sperm DNA. Therefore, we assessed sperm telomere length as a potential marker of paternal genome integrity and leukocyte telomere length as an internal control (real-time PCR), along with sperm chromatin status (TUNEL and chromomycin A3 assay), and lipid peroxidation (Bodipy probe) in 18 infertile men with grade II or III varicocele, and 20 fertile men. Means of sperm parameters, sperm and leukocyte telomere length were significantly lower, while means of sperm DNA fragmentation, protamine deficiency, and lipid peroxidation were significantly higher in infertile men with varicocele compared to fertile men. Therefore, shortened telomere length in sperm and leukocytes is likely associated with increased oxidative stress related to the state of varicocele, which also accounts for increase in sperm DNA fragmentation. Thus, assessment of leukocyte telomere length could be taken as an indicator of antioxidant capacity in an individual, which also affects sperm function.
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