Sperm are a highly specialized cell type derived to deliver the paternal haploid genome to the oocyte. The epigenetic, or gene regulatory, properties and mechanisms of the sperm assist in preparation of the paternal genome to contribute to embryogenesis and the genome of the zygote. Many recent studies have addressed the issue of altered epigenetic processes in the sperm. This review evaluates ...

Telomere length and stability is a biomarker of aging, stress, and cancer. Shortening of telomeres and high level of DNA damages are known to be associated with aging. Telomere shortening normally occurs during cell division in most cells and when telomeres reach a critically short length, DNA damage signaling and cellular senescence can be triggered. The induction of an adaptive response by sp...

Introduction: Telomeres are DNA portions that are located on the two ends of the chromosome. Telomeres play an important role in cellular life. Exercise is one of the factors that contributes to their control. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of 8 weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) on telomere length and telomerase activity in non-athletic young men. ...

background: limited resources for adult stem cells necessitate their in vitro culture prior to clinical use. investigating mitochondrial dna (mtdna) and telomere shortening has proved to be important indications of stem cell validity. this study was designed to investigate these indicators in multiple passages of three adult stem cell lines which were produced in our stem cell laboratory. metho...

Abstract Study question Whether the activation of DUX4, a key inducer in process zygotic genome (ZGA), is associated with telomere length. Summary answer Telomeres regulate expression DUX4/Dux through chromatin remodeling and are thereby involved ZGA. What known already In human early embryos, DUX4 activated as initial stage ZGA, it, turn, activates hundreds genes cleavage-stage embryo. Human l...

Infertility is a problem affecting an increasing number of couples worldwide. Currently, marker tests for male factor infertility are complex, highly technical and relatively subjective. Up to 40% cases currently diagnosed as idiopathic therefore, there clear need further research into better ways diagnosing it. Changes in sperm telomere length have been associated with closely linked DNA damag...