Type 2 diabetes impacts DNA methylation in human sperm.

IF 4.8 2区医学 Q1 GENETICS & HEREDITY

Clinical Epigenetics Pub Date : 2025-03-20 DOI:10.1186/s13148-025-01853-9

Lei Su, Jonathan M Dreyfuss, Rafael Ferraz Bannitz, Danielle Wolfs, Georgia Hansbury, Lauren Richardson, Charnice Charmant, Jay Patel, Elizabeth S Ginsburg, Catherine Racowsky, Ruby Fore, Vissarion Efthymiou, Jessica Desmond, Allison Goldfine, Anne Ferguson-Smith, Hui Pan, Marie-France Hivert, Elvira Isganaitis, Mary Elizabeth Patti

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aims/hypothesis: Disorders of the reproductive system, including hypogonadism and reduced fertility, are an under-recognized complication of diabetes. Based on experimental data in mice, hyperglycemia and obesity may modify epigenetic marks in sperm and impact health and development of offspring, but data are more limited in humans. Thus, we sought to study the impact of type 2 diabetes and glycemic control on sperm quality and DNA methylation.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, we recruited 40 men with BMI greater than 25 kg/m² including 18 with type 2 diabetes, 6 with prediabetes, and 16 normoglycemic controls. Assessments were repeated after 3 months in 9 men with type 2 diabetes and 7 controls. We analyzed reproductive hormones, sperm concentration and motility, and sperm DNA methylation (MethylationEPIC BeadChip).

Results: Men with type 2 diabetes had higher levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), but similar testosterone levels and sperm quality as controls. Sperm DNA methylation was stable with repeat sampling at 3 months in men with and without type 2 diabetes. We identified differential methylation at 655 of 745,804 CpG sites in men with type 2 diabetes versus controls (FDR < 0.05). Of these, 96.5% showed higher methylation in type 2 diabetes, with a mean difference in DNA methylation (beta value, β) of 0.16 ± 0.004 (16 ± 0.4%). Ontology analysis of differentially methylated loci revealed annotation to genes regulating synaptic signaling, actin, cAMP-dependent pathways, and G protein-coupled receptor pathways. 24% of probes differentially regulated in men with type 2 diabetes versus control overlapped with probes associated with HbA1c, suggesting additional factors beyond glycemic control contributed to diabetes-associated differences in DNA methylation.

Conclusions/interpretation: Men with type 2 diabetes showed higher DNA methylation levels in sperm relative to normoglycemic controls with similar BMI. Whether these differences are reversible with glucose-lowering treatment or may contribute to post-fertilization transcriptional regulation warrants further investigation.

Trial registration: NCT03860558.

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来源期刊

Clinical Epigenetics ONCOLOGY-

自引率

5.30%

发文量

150

期刊介绍： Clinical Epigenetics, the official journal of the Clinical Epigenetics Society, is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that encompasses all aspects of epigenetic principles and mechanisms in relation to human disease, diagnosis and therapy. Clinical trials and research in disease model organisms are particularly welcome.