Mixtures of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) alter sperm methylation and long-term reprogramming of offspring liver and fat transcriptome

Male fertility has been declining worldwide especially in countries with high levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl Substances (PFAS) have been classified as EDCs and have been linked to adverse male reproductive health. The mechanisms of these associations and their implications on offspring health remain unknown. The aims of the current study were to assess the effect of PFAS mixtures on the sperm methylome and transcriptional changes in offspring metabolic tissues (i.e., liver and fat). C57BL/6 male mice were exposed to a mixture of PFAS (PFOS, PFOA, PFNA, PFHxS, Genx; 20 µg/L each) for 18-weeks or water as a control. Genome-wide methylation was assessed on F0 epidydimal sperm using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and Illumina mouse methylation array, while gene expression was assessed by bulk RNA sequencing in 8-week-old offspring derived from unexposed females. PFAS mixtures resulted in 2,861 (RRBS) and 83 (Illumina) sperm DMRs (q < 0.05). Functional enrichment revealed that PFAS-induced sperm DMRs were associated with behavior and developmental pathways in RRBS, while Illumina DMRs were related to lipid metabolism and cell signaling. Additionally, PFAS mixtures resulted in 40 and 53 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the liver and fat of males, and 9 and 31 DEGs in females, respectively. Functional enrichment of DEGs revealed alterations in cholesterol metabolism and mitotic cell cycle regulation in the liver and myeloid leukocyte migration in fat of male offspring, while in female offspring, erythrocyte development and carbohydrate catabolism were affected in fat. Our results demonstrate that exposure to a mixture of legacy and newly emerging PFAS chemicals in adult male mice result in aberrant sperm methylation and altered gene expression of offspring liver and fat in a sex-specific manner. These data indicate that preconception PFAS exposure in males can be transmitted to affect phenotype in the next generation.

Associations between Sperm Epigenetic Age and Semen Parameters: An Evaluation of Clinical and Non-Clinical Cohorts

The well-documented relationship between chronological age and the sperm methylome has allowed for the construction of epigenetic clocks that estimate the biological age of sperm based on DNA methylation, which we previously termed sperm epigenetic age (SEA). Our lab demonstrated that SEA is positively associated with the time taken to achieve pregnancy; however, its relationship with semen parameters is unknown. A total of 379 men from the Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and Environment (LIFE) study, a non-clinical cohort, and 192 men seeking fertility treatment from the Sperm Environmental Epigenetics and Development Study (SEEDS) were included in the study. Semen analyses were conducted for both cohorts, and SEA was previously generated using a machine learning algorithm and DNA methylation array data. Association analyses were conducted via multivariable linear regression models adjusting for BMI and smoking status. We found that SEA was not associated with standard semen characteristics in SEEDS and LIFE cohorts. However, SEA was significantly associated with higher sperm head length and perimeter, the presence of pyriform and tapered sperm, and lower sperm elongation factor in the LIFE study (p < 0.05). Based on our results, SEA is mostly associated with defects in sperm head morphological factors that are less commonly evaluated during male infertility assessments. SEA shows promise to be an independent biomarker of sperm quality to assess male fecundity.

Effects of preconception exposure to phthalates on mouse sperm capacitation parameters

BACKGROUND

Phthalates have been linked to adverse male reproductive health, including poor sperm quality and embryo quality as well as a longer time to pregnancy (months of unprotected intercourse before conception occurs). The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of preconception exposure to two ubiquitous phthalate chemicals, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), and their mixture on sperm function, fertilization, and embryo development in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Adult male C57BL/6J mice aged 8-9 weeks were exposed to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, di-n-butyl phthalate, or their mixture (di-n-butyl phthalate + di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) at 2.5 mg/kg/day or vehicle for 40 days (equivalent to one spermatogenic cycle) via surgically implanted osmotic pumps. Caudal epididymal spermatozoa were extracted and analyzed for motility using computer-assisted sperm analyses. Sperm phosphorylation of protein kinase A substrates and tyrosine phosphorylation, markers of early and late capacitation events, respectively, were analyzed by Western blots. In vitro fertilization was used to evaluate the sperm fertilizing capacity.

RESULTS

While the study did not reveal any significant differences in sperm motility and fertilization potential, abnormal sperm morphology was observed in all phthalate exposures, particularly in the phthalate mixture group. In addition, the study revealed significant differences in sperm concentration between control and exposed groups. Moreover, protein phosphorylation of protein kinase A substrates was decreased in the di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and mixture exposure groups, while no significant changes in protein tyrosine phosphorylation were observed in any of the groups. Assessment of the reproductive functionality did not reveal significant effects on in vitro fertilization and early embryo development rates but showed wide variability in the phthalate mixture group.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that preconception phthalate exposure affects sperm numbers and phosphorylation of protein kinase A substrates involved in capacitation. Future research is warranted to examine the associations between phthalate exposure and capacitation in human spermatozoa.

Urinary phthalate metabolites and small non-coding RNAs from seminal plasma extracellular vesicles among men undergoing infertility treatment

Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) cargo of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the male reproductive tract play critical roles in semen quality and emerging evidence suggests their susceptibility to environmental factors. Male phthalate exposures have been linked to poor semen quality, sperm DNA methylation profiles and embryo development; however, there is limited evidence on their potential impact on EV ncRNAs profiles. We evaluated the association between urinary phthalate metabolites and small ncRNAs (sncRNAs) of seminal plasma EVs (spEV) among men receiving clinical infertility care. We conducted sncRNA sequencing of EVs in 96 seminal plasma samples collected from the Sperm Environmental Epigenetics and Development Study (SEEDS). Sequencing reads were mapped to human transcriptome databases using STAR. Urinary metabolite concentrations of thirteen phthalates and two DiNCH, a phthalate alternative, were measured via tandem mass spectrometry. Associations with normalized counts were assessed using EdgeR (FDR<0.05) adjusting for urinary dilution via specific gravity, age, BMI, batch, and biotype-specific total counts. Select metabolites, MEOHP, MECPP, ∑DEHP, MCPP, MCNP, MCOP, were negatively (p < 0.05) correlated with miRNA relative abundance. Similarly, nine metabolites including MEOHP, MECPP, MEHP, MCPP, MHBP, MHiNCH, MiBP, MEHHP, MCOP and ∑DEHP were associated (q < 0.05) with normalized counts from 23 unique ncRNA transcripts (7 miRNAs (pre & mature); 6 tRFs; and 10 piRNAs), most (78%) of which displayed increased expression patterns. miRNA and tRFs gene targets were enriched in vesicle-mediated transport and developmental-related ontology terms, such as tyrosine kinase, head development, and cell morphogenesis. Six genes (MAPK1, BMPR1A/2, PTEN, TGFBR2, TP53 and APP) were present in all the ontology terms and predicted to form protein association networks. piRNAs were annotated to pseudogenes of genes important in EV cargo transfer and embryonic development. This is the first study to associate phthalate exposures to altered spEV sncRNA profiles. Future studies are needed to determine their impact on reproductive outcomes.

Non-coding RNAs from seminal plasma extracellular vesicles and success of live birth among couples undergoing fertility treatment

Background: Infertility remains a global health problem with male-factor infertility accounting for around 50% of cases. Understanding the molecular markers for the male contribution of live birth success has been limited. Here, we evaluated the expression levels of seminal plasma extracellular vesicle (spEV) non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in men of couples in relation with those with and without a successful live birth after infertility treatment. Method: Sperm-free spEV small RNA profiles were generated from 91 semen samples collected from male participants of couples undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment. Couples were classified into two groups based on successful live birth (yes, n = 28) and (no, n = 63). Mapping of reads to human transcriptomes followed the order: miRNA > tRNA > piRNA > rRNA> "other" RNA > circRNA > lncRNA. Differential expression analysis of biotype-specific normalized read counts between groups were assessed using EdgeR (FDR<0.05). Result: We found a total of 12 differentially expressed spEV ncRNAs which included 10 circRNAs and two piRNAs between the live birth groups. Most (n = 8) of the identified circRNAs were downregulated in the no live birth group and targeted genes related to ontology terms such as negative reproductive system and head development, tissue morphogenesis, embryo development ending in birth or egg hatching, and vesicle-mediated transport. The differentially upregulated piRNAs overlapped with genomic regions including coding PID1 genes previously known to play a role in mitochondrion morphogenesis, signal transduction and cellular proliferation. Conclusion: This study identified novel ncRNAs profiles of spEVs differentiating men of couples with and without live birth and emphasizes the role of the male partner for ART success.

Altered non-coding RNA profiles of seminal plasma extracellular vesicles of men with poor semen quality undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment

BACKGROUND

Currently, the precise mechanisms that underline male infertility are still unclear. Accumulating data implicate non-coding RNA cargo of seminal plasma extracellular vesicles due to their association with poor semen quality and higher expression levels relative to vesicle-free seminal plasma.

METHOD

We assessed sperm-free seminal plasma extracellular vesicle non-coding RNA profiles from 91 semen samples collected from male participants of couples seeking infertility treatment. Men were classified into two groups (poor, n = 32; normal, n = 59) based on World Health Organization semen cutoffs. Small RNA sequencing reads were mapped to standard biotype-specific transcriptomes in the order micro RNA > transfer RNA > piwi-interacting RNA > ribosomal RNA  > ribosomal RNA > circular RNA > long non-coding RNA using STAR. Differential expression of normalized non-coding RNA read counts between the two groups was conducted by EdgeR (Fold change ≥1.5 and (false discovery rate [FDR] < 0.05).

RESULT

Small RNA sequencing identified a wide variety of seminal plasma extracellular vesicle non-coding RNA biotypes including micro RNA, ribosomal RNAs, piwi-interacting RNAs, transfer RNA, long non-coding RNAs as well as circular RNAs, and fragments associated with pseudogenes, and nonsense-mediated decay. The expression levels of 57 seminal plasma extracellular vesicle non-coding RNAs (micro RNA: 6, piwi-interacting RNA: 4, ribosomal RNA: 6, circular RNA: 34, and long non-coding RNA: 7) were altered in men with poor semen quality relative to normal semen parameters, many (60%) of which were circular RNA species. Ontology analysis of differentially expressed micro RNAs and circular RNAs showed enrichment in functional terms related to cellular communication and early development.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to generate comprehensive seminal plasma extracellular vesicle non-coding RNA profiles in a clinical setting and to determine the differences between men with normal and abnormal semen parameters. Thus, our study suggests that seminal plasma extracellular vesicle non-coding RNAs may represent novel biomarkers of male reproductive phenotypes.

Exploring the internal exposome of seminal plasma with semen quality and live birth: A Pilot Study

Infertility is clinically defined as the inability to achieve pregnancy within 12 months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse and affects 15% of couples worldwide. Therefore, the identification of novel biomarkers that can accurately predict male reproductive health and couples' reproductive success is of major public health significance. The objective of this pilot study is to test whether untargeted metabolomics is capable of discriminating reproductive outcomes and understand associations between the internal exposome of seminal plasma and the reproductive outcomes of semen quality and live birth among ten participants undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) in Springfield, MA. We hypothesize that seminal plasma offers a novel biological matrix by which untargeted metabolomics is able to discern male reproductive status and predict reproductive success. The internal exposome data was acquired using UHPLC-HR-MS on randomized seminal plasma samples at UNC at Chapel Hill. Unsupervised and supervised multivariate analyses were used to visualize the differentiation of phenotypic groups classified by men with normal or low semen quality based on World Health Organization guidelines as well as by successful ART: live birth or no live birth. Over 100 exogenous metabolites, including environmentally relevant metabolites, ingested food components, drugs and medications, and metabolites relevant to microbiome-xenobiotic interaction, were identified and annotated from the seminal plasma samples, through matching against the NC HHEAR hub in-house experimental standard library. Pathway enrichment analysis indicated that fatty acid biosynthesis and metabolism, vitamin A metabolism, and histidine metabolism were associated sperm quality; while pathways involving vitamin A metabolism, C21-steroid hormone biosynthesis and metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, and Omega-3 fatty acid metabolism distinguished live birth groups. Taken together, these pilot results suggest that seminal plasma is a novel matrix to study the influence of the internal exposome on reproductive health outcomes. Future research aims to increase the sample size to validate these findings.

Urinary phthalate metabolites and their mixtures are associated with advanced sperm epigenetic aging in a general population

INTRODUCTION

We have recently shown that sperm epigenetic age (SEA), a surrogate measure of biological aging in sperm, is associated with couples' time-to-pregnancy (TTP). Advanced SEA was also observed among smokers, suggesting its susceptibility to environmental exposures. Therefore, we assessed the association between urinary phthalate metabolites and SEA in male partners of couples planning to conceive among the general population.

METHOD

The Longitudinal Investigation of Fertility and the Environment (LIFE) Study was a prospective multi-site and general population cohort study of couples who were interested in becoming pregnant. Among male partners (n = 333), eleven urinary phthalate metabolites were measured and SEA was previously developed using Super Learner ensemble algorithm. Multivariable linear regression was used to evaluate associations of SEA with individual metabolites. Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), quantile g-computation (qgcomp) and weighted quantile sum (WQS) models were used for mixture analyses. Covariates included were BMI, cotinine, race and urinary creatinine.

RESULT

In the single metabolite multivariate analyses, nine (82%) phthalate metabolites displayed positive trends with SEA (range: 0.05-0.47 years). Of these metabolites, advanced SEA was significantly associated with interquartile range increases in exposure of three phthalates [MEHHP (β = 0.23, 95% CI: 0.03, 0.43, p = 0.03), MMP (β = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.47, p = 0.04), and MiBP (β = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.14, 0.81, p = 0.01)]. Additionally, in BKMR and qgcomp (p = 0.06), but not WQS models, phthalate mixtures showed an overall positive trend with SEA, with MiBP, MMP and MBzP as major drivers of the mixture effects.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study that combined single exposure and mixture models to associate male phthalate exposures with advanced epigenetic aging of sperm in men planning to conceive among the general population. Our findings suggest that phthalate exposure may contribute to the acceleration of biological aging of sperm.

Paternal preconception phthalate exposure alters sperm methylome and embryonic programming

Preconception environmental conditions have been demonstrated to shape sperm epigenetics and subsequently offspring health and development. Our previous findings in humans showed that urinary anti-androgenic phthalate metabolites in males were associated with altered sperm methylation and blastocyst-stage embryo development. To corroborate this, we examined the effect of preconception exposure to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on genome-wide DNA methylation and gene expression profiles in mice. Eight-week old C57BL/6J male mice were exposed to either a vehicle control, low, or high dose of DEHP (2.5 and 25 mg/kg/weight, respectively) for 67 days (~2 spermatogenic cycles) and were subsequently mated with unexposed females. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) of epididymal sperm was performed and gastrulation stage embryos were collected for RRBS and transcriptome analyses in both embryonic and extra-embryonic lineages. Male preconception DEHP exposure resulted in 704 differentially methylated regions (DMRs; q-value < 0.05; ≥10% methylation change) in sperm, 1,716 DMRs in embryonic, and 3,181 DMRs in extra-embryonic tissue. Of these, 29 DMRs overlapped between sperm and F1 tissues, half of which showed concordant methylation changes between F0 and F1 generations. F1 transcriptomes at E7.5 were also altered by male preconception DEHP exposure including developmental gene families such as Hox, Gata, and Sox. Additionally, gene ontology analyses of DMRs and differentially expressed genes showed enrichment of multiple developmental processes including embryonic development, pattern specification and morphogenesis. These data indicate that spermatogenesis in adult may represent a sensitive window in which exposure to DEHP alters the sperm methylome as well as DNA methylation and gene expression in the developing embryo.

Extracellular vesicle cargo of the male reproductive tract and the paternal preconception environment

The molecular composition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is emerging as a novel biomarker in many areas of research including reproductive health. EVs transport biological molecules such as RNA and protein to facilitate cell-to-cell communication among cells of the male reproductive tract. Human and animal studies have shown that EVs present in seminal plasma or in the male reproductive tract contain important cargo that are important for successful reproductive outcomes. Small non-coding RNAs (sncRNA) have been at the forefront of this research, and as such, they have the potential to serve as novel biomarkers of male infertility diagnosis and reproductive success. This review provides an overview of EV biosynthesis and examines the molecular payloads of seminal plasma EVs on male infertility and reproductive success as well as future research that is warranted to examine how these molecular payloads may be modified by environmental factors.

Association between sperm mitochondarial DNA copy number and nuclear DNA methylation

Aim: Accumulating evidence associates sperm mitochondria DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) with male infertility and reproductive success. However, the mechanism underlying mtDNAcn variation is largely unknown. Patients & methods: Sperm mtDNAcn and genome-wide DNA methylation were assessed using triplex probe-based quantitative PCR and Illumina's 450K array, respectively. Multivariable models assessed the association between sperm mtDNAcn and DNA methylation profiles of 47 men seeking infertility treatment. Results:  A priori candidate-gene approach showed sperm mtDNAcn was associated with 16 CpGs located at/near POLG and TWNK genes. Unbiased genome-wide analysis revealed that sperm mtDNAcn was associated with 218 sperm differentially methylated regions (q < 0.05), which displayed predominantly (94%) increases in methylation. Conclusion: Findings suggest that DNA methylation may play a role in regulating sperm mtDNAcn.

The role of the telephone in providing prenatal care

To assess the role of telephone services in the health care of pregnant women, we evaluated the pregnancy healthline, Info-Grossesse (IG). We assessed the population of users, the reasons for their use, their reactions to the program, and their willingness to participate in follow-up surveys. During a 44-month period, there were 3,589 calls from women who were (or thought they were) pregnant. Overall, about half the calls related to teratogen information services, whereas the other half were for more general pregnancy-related information. Although women calling about medications were slightly older than the others, there were no major differences between groups defined by the primary reason for a call. Overall, about 17% of calls required a referral for formal risk counseling, with referrals most likely for calls about medications. Based on responses to a satisfaction questionnaire completed by over 80% of those asked to participate, IG decreased concerns for and answered all the questions of about three quarters of the respondents. Over 85% of eligible callers provided information on the outcome of their pregnancies, indicating that collecting these follow-up data is an acceptable and feasible program component. This study suggests that a pregnancy healthline such as IG can reach women worried about their pregnancies and that it can, thereby, reduce adverse conditions of pregnancy associated with "unnecessary" concerns or "inappropriate" use of services.