ArticleClinical epigenetics2023
Global effects of identity and aging on the human sperm methylome.
Article in Clinical epigenetics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- DNA methylation clock in bull sperm cells reveals the epigenetic aging characteristics and impact on fertility.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2026Article
- Effects of Aging on Mammalian Spermatogenesis From a Cellular Perspective.Molecular reproduction and development · 2025Review
- Review
- Single-cell transcriptomic atlas of the human testis across the reproductive lifespan.Nature aging · 2025Article
- Review
- Review
- Paternal aging impacts expression and epigenetic markers as early as the first embryonic tissue lineage differentiation.Human genomics · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs the average age of fatherhood increases worldwide, so too does the need for understanding effects of aging in male germline cells. Molecular change, including epigenomic alterations, may impact offspring. Age-associated change to DNA cytosine methylation in the cytosine-guanine (CpG) context is a hallmark of aging tissues, including sperm. Prior studies have led to accurate models that predict a man's age based on specific methylation features in the DNA of sperm, but the relationship between aging and global DNA methylation in sperm remains opaque. Further clarification requires a more complete survey of the methylome with assessment of variability within and between individuals.
resultsWe collected sperm methylome data in a longitudinal study of ten healthy fertile men. We used whole-genome bisulfite sequencing of samples collected 10 to 18 years apart from each donor. We found that, overall, variability between donors far exceeds age-associated variation. After controlling for donor identity, we see significant age-dependent genome-wide change to the methylome. Notably, trends of change with age depend on genomic location or annotation, with contrasting signatures that correlate with gene density and proximity to centromeres and promoter regions.
conclusionsWe uncovered epigenetic signatures that reflect a stable process which begins in early adulthood, progressing steadily through most of the male lifespan, and warrants consideration in any future study of the aging sperm epigenome.
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Registered trials
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