BACKGROUND Protamine content is necessary for proper sperm chromatin condensation and subsequent male fertility. The exact effect of smoking on male fertility remains controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of smoking on protamine content of sperm in smoker and non-smoker patients. METHODS Protamines 1 (P1) and 2 (P2) were quantified by gel electrophoresis in the...

BACKGROUND The role of oxidative stress in endosulfan-induced reproductive toxicity has been implicated. This study was performed to evaluate the possible protective effect of vitamins E and C, against endosulfan-induced reproductive toxicity in rats. METHODS Fifty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups (n=10 each). The groups included a control receiving vehicl...

We report the development of a new method for producing mitotic extracts from tissue culture cells. These extracts reproducibly promote the condensation of chromatin in vitro when incubated with purified interphase nuclei. This condensation reaction is not species specific, since nuclei from chicken, human, and hamster cell lines all undergo chromatin condensation upon incubation with the extra...

We report the development of a new method for producing mitotic extracts from tissue culture cells. These extracts reproducibly promote the condensation of chromatin in vitro when incubated with purified interphase nuclei. This condensation reaction is not species specific, since nuclei from chicken, human, and hamster cell lines all undergo chromatin condensation upon incubation with the extra...

The condensation level of chromatin is controlled by epigenetic modifications and associated regulatory factors and changes throughout differentiation and cell cycle progression. To test whether changes of chromatin condensation levels per se affect access and binding of proteins, we used a hypertonic cell treatment. This shift to hyperosmolar medium increased nuclear calcium concentrations and...

STUDY QUESTION What are the effects of continuous sauna exposure on seminal parameters, sperm chromatin, sperm apoptosis and expression of genes involved in heat stress and hypoxia? SUMMARY ANSWER Scrotal hyperthermia by exposure to sauna can induce a significant alteration of spermatogenesis. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Several authors have evidenced that high temperature has dramatic effects on...

Background: During the later stages of spermatogenesis, spermatid nuclear remodeling and condensation are associated with histone modifications and the sequential displacement of histones by transition proteins and then by protamines. In humans, approximately 15% of the sperm DNA remains packaged by histones in sequence-specific areas. The histone variant H2B, member W, testis-specific (H2BFWT)...

tau.amegroups.com © Translational Andrology and Urology. All rights reserved. One of the measurements of sperm quality that can be assessed with validated protocols is DNA fragmentation, the subject was profoundly dissected in the article by Agarwal et al. and that constitutes the backbone of this commentary (1). Authors quoted: “Over the past decade, Sperm DNA Fragmentation (SDF) measurements ...

Chromosome condensation is required for the physical resolution and segregation of sister chromatids during cell division, but the precise role of higher order chromatin structure in mitotic chromosome functions is unclear. Here, we address the role of the major condensation machinery, the condensin complex, in spindle assembly and function in Xenopus laevis egg extracts. Immunodepletion of con...

A monospecific autoimmune serum for poly(ADP-ribosyl)transferase (pADPRT) was used to localise the enzyme in ultrastructural cellular compartments. We detected enzyme in mitochondria of HeLa and Sertoli cells. Within the nucleoplasm the enzyme concentration was positively correlated with the degree of chromatin condensation, with interchromatin spaces being virtually free of pADPRT. During sper...