Global effects of identity and aging on the human sperm methylome.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Longitudinal follow-up study tracking within-individual methylome changes over 10 to 18 years.
PubMed 37550724 · doi:10.1186/s13148-023-01541-6
What was done
Longitudinal analysis of sperm DNA methylation in 10 healthy, fertile men using whole-genome bisulfite sequencing. Two semen samples per participant were analyzed, collected 10 to 18 years apart, to differentiate inter-individual variability from age-associated epigenomic changes.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values. Inter-donor baseline variability far exceeded age-associated variation. After adjusting for donor identity, significant age-dependent genome-wide methylation changes were observed, with directional patterns correlating with gene density and proximity to centromeres and promoters.
Why it matters
Shows that individual baseline differences dominate sperm epigenetics, indicating that within-person longitudinal controls are essential to isolate true paternal age-related germline modifications.
Limits
Very small sample size (n = 10) limited to healthy fertile donors. The abstract provides purely qualitative descriptions without quantitative metrics or statistical confidence intervals, and clinical or offspring outcomes were not assessed.
Cited by
- supports The sperm methylome changes with age, differing between 50-year-old and 20-year-old men.