Sperm Global DNA Methylation (SGDM) in Semen of Healthy Dogs

Galdiero, Giacomo; D’Anza, Emanuele; Angelis, Cristina de; Albarella, Sara; Peretti, V.; Pivonello, Rosario; Ciotola, Francesca

doi:10.3390/vetsci8030050

Cited by 2 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Besides, there is sufficient evidence that male fertility or reproductive health has significantly declined over the last 40 to 60 years (3). Similarly to humans, infertility in dogs is a common (4)(5)(6)(7)(8) and increasing problem (9)(10)(11). Evaluation of the predominant causes showed similar results for both species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Chronic Immune-Mediated Orchitis Is the Major Cause of Acquired Non-obstructive Azoospermia in Dogs

et al. 2022

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Azoospermia, the lack of spermatozoa in the ejaculate, is the most common finding in infertile but otherwise healthy male dogs and represents an increasing reproductive health issue in men, too. The diagnosis can be further classified as non-obstructive azoospermia and obstructive azoospermia due to an obstruction of the deferent ducts. Although non-obstructive azoospermia comprises more than half of azoospermic cases in men and is a common cause of infertility in the male dog, knowledge of the underlying etiology and pathophysiology is still strongly limited, and much uncertainty exists about the true incidence and possible treatment options. Therefore, this study aims to investigate and characterize infertile canine patients in detail by combining results of andrological examinations (clinical parameters, semen analysis, bacterial examination of semen, and Brucella canis serology), endocrine analysis (luteinizing hormone, testosterone, estradiol-17ß, and thyroid function), analysis of the alkaline phosphatase in seminal plasma, and histological assessment of testicular biopsies of 10 azoospermic dogs. Our results not only verify non-obstructive etiology for 9/10 cases of canine azoospermia but also further identified significant histopathological changes of the testicular tissue with severely disrupted spermatogenesis, including fibrotic remodeling, vacuolization, Sertoli-cell-only syndrome, tubular shadows, and an increase of the interstitial and vascular area. In addition, three dogs showed local and six dogs generalized immune-cell infiltration, indicating chronic immune-mediated orchitis. Only in one case (no. 1) that no immune cells were found, and obstructive azoospermia was suspected due to low alkaline phosphatase activity. Furthermore, the detection of anti-thyroideal antibodies in two dogs indicates an autoimmune thyroid disease and a correlation between the occurrence of thyroidal disorders and azoospermia. Our results confirm previous findings and contribute additional evidence suggesting that chronic immune-mediated orchitis is the major cause of infertility in dogs. Further studies should focus on uncovering underlying inflammatory processes behind spermatogenic failure in these cases and identify possible treatment options to (re-)initialize spermatogenesis.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Chronic Immune-Mediated Orchitis Is the Major Cause of Acquired Non-obstructive Azoospermia in Dogs

et al. 2022

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“…In each sample, DNA methylation was assessed by determining the percentage of the 5-methylcytosine (5-meC) epigenetic mark in DNA relative to a fully methylated DNA control in fresh Muscovy duck semen samples. This was performed using a 5-meC ELISA kit (Zymo Research, Tustin, CA, USA) according to the manufacturer's instructions [25]. In brief, total genomic DNA was extracted from the samples using the Quick-DNA Plus kit (Zymo Research, USA) and then subjected to 5-meC detection using a monoclonal anti-5-Methylcytosine antibody, which is sensitive and specific to this base modification.…”

Section: Dna Methylationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although kinetic and morphological parameters are traditionally used for sperm quality evaluation, they alone are insufficient for a comprehensive assessment [3,24]. Incorporating DNA methylation analysis can provide valuable insights into epigenetic regulation and its potential impact on fertility [9,16,19,25]. By including this additional parameter, a more comprehensive understanding of sperm function and overall reproductive potential can be achieved, ultimately improving the evaluation of sperm quality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Machine Learning Approach for Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) Semen Quality Assessment

Abadjieva

Georgiev

Gerzilov

et al. 2023

Animals

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This study aimed to develop a comprehensive approach for assessing fresh ejaculate from Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) drakes to fulfil the requirements of artificial insemination in farm practices. The approach combines sperm kinetics (CASA) with non-kinetic parameters, such as vitality, enzyme activities (alkaline phosphatase (AP), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and γ-glutamyl-transferase (GGT)), and total DNA methylation as training features for a set of machine learning (ML) models designed to enhance the predictive capacity of sperm parameters. Samples were classified based on their progressive motility and DNA methylation features, exhibiting significant differences in total and progressive motility, curvilinear velocity (VCL), velocity of the average path (VAP), linear velocity (VSL), amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH), beat-cross frequency (BCF), and live normal sperm cells in favour of fast motility ones. Additionally, there were significant differences in enzyme activities for AP and CK, with correlations to LDH and GGT levels. Although motility showed no correlation with total DNA methylation, ALH, wobble of the curvilinear trajectory (WOB), and VCL were significantly different in the newly introduced classification for “suggested good quality”, where both motility and methylation were high. The performance differences observed while training various ML classifiers using different feature subsets highlight the importance of DNA methylation for achieving more accurate sample quality classification, even though there is no correlation between motility and DNA methylation. The parameters ALH, VCL, triton extracted LDH, and VAP were top-ranking for “suggested good quality” predictions by the neural network and gradient boosting models. In conclusion, integrating non-kinetic parameters into machine-learning-based sample classification offers a promising approach for selecting kinetically and morphologically superior duck sperm samples that might otherwise be hindered by a predominance of lowly methylated cells.

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Sperm Global DNA Methylation (SGDM) in Semen of Healthy Dogs

Cited by 2 publications

References 52 publications

Chronic Immune-Mediated Orchitis Is the Major Cause of Acquired Non-obstructive Azoospermia in Dogs

Chronic Immune-Mediated Orchitis Is the Major Cause of Acquired Non-obstructive Azoospermia in Dogs

Machine Learning Approach for Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) Semen Quality Assessment

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