Paternal ethanol consumption affects male offspring intergenerationally

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

Buenos Aires

Simposio; International Symposium on Reproductive Health (ISRH) 2021; 2021

Ethanol consumption could profoundly affect sperm chromatin and, thus, have a severe impact on reproduction. Previously, we observed that male ethanol consumption increased the sperm rate of decondensation, affecting the kinetics of fertilization. Here, we analyzed the effect of moderate paternal ethanol consumption on both their own reproductive capacity and that of their male offspring (F1). CF-1 male mice were exposed (treated group, T) or not (control group, C) to 15% (v/v) ethanol in drinking water ad libitum for 12 days. Spermatozoa from epididymal cauda were obtained by swim-out to determine sperm oxidative stress and epigenetic marks of histone modifications by immunocytochemistry. Testicular weight and histology was analyzed and the DNA fragmentation was studied by TUNEL assay on both groups. Males from C and T groups were mated with non-treated CF-1 female mice. Sperm from adult male mice of the F1 were obtained by swim-out to determine epigenetic histone modifications. Testicles of F1 mice were analyzed histologically. Male ethanol consumption decreased the size of the lumen of the seminiferous tubules and increased sperm oxidative stress in the T group . We observed a significant decrease of epigenetic marks of histone H3K4me3 in sperm from T group vs. C group. We also detected an increase in TUNEL labeling on the germinal line in testicles from T groups. When we analyzed F1 mice we detected differences in the diameter and thickness of the epithelium of their seminiferous tubules being both significantly minor that those in the C group. Paternal ethanol consumption significantly increased the abundance of epigenetic marks in histones H3K9me and H4K12ac in the spermatozoa of the F1. Altogether, our study provides critical information on the paternal reproductive disturbances, as a consequence of moderate ethanol consumption, and the profound impact they could have on their F1.