Paternal alcohol consumption has intergenerational consequences in male offspring.

CAMBIASSO MAITE YAEL; GOTFRYD LUCILA; STINSON MARCELO GABRIEL; BIROLO SOL; SALAMONE GABRIELA; ROMANATO MARINA; CALVO JUAN CARLOS; FONTANA VANINA ANDREA

JOURNAL OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTION AND GENETICS.

SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2022

1058-0468

Purpose: Alcoholism is a heterogeneous set of disorders caused by ethanol intake. In particular, the harmful effects of paternal consumption on the offspring are poorly explored and not fully understood. We analyzed the effect of paternal alcohol consumption on both their own reproductive capacity and that of their male offspring. Methods: We used a model of consumption of ethanol in drinking water (15% v/v) for 12 days in adult CF-1 male mice. Integrity and post-translational modifications of histones were assessed in sperm and weight, histology and DNA fragmentation were analyzed in testes. Then, treated or not male mice were mated with non-treated females to obtain two cells embryos that were cultured for 7 days. Their morphology and embryonic cell death were evaluated. Finally, males of each group were mated with non-treated females. The adult male offspring was euthanized, and we analyzed the sperm and testes parameters. Results: We found that paternal ethanol consumption caused histological and epigenetic changes, as well as damage in DNA integrity in the testicular germline and sperm. These alterations gave rise to deleterious effects on embryonic development, as well as testicular and spermatic changes in the offspring. Conclusion: Our study provides critical information on the paternal reproductive disturbances that alcohol consumption may bring about, and the profound impact they could have on their male progeny. There is a clear need to explore the effects of paternal alcohol consumption in detail and warn about the importance of controlling alcohol intake for the well-being of future generations.