Meiotic chromosome abnormalities in fertile men: are they increasing?

作者：Uroz Laia; Rajmil Osvaldo; Templado Cristina^*

来源：Fertility and Sterility, 2011, 95(1): 141-146.

DOI：10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.06.042

• Meiotic abnormalities
• fertile men
• spermatocytes
• achiasmate bivalents

Objective: To determine the basal frequencies of meiotic chromosome abnormalities in fertile men.
Design: Descriptive design.
Setting: Research university laboratory and clinical andrology service.
Patient(s): Seventeen fertile donors undergoing vasectomy.
Intervention(s): Analysis of testicular biopsies.
Main Outcome Measure(s): Meiotic chromosome abnormalities in metaphase I spermatocytes.
Result(s): A total of 1,407 spermatocytes I was analyzed. The main meiotic abnormality was absence or low chiasma number of individual bivalents (23.4%), followed by structural (3.3%) and numerical (0.7%) abnormalities. Sex chromosomes and G-group chromosomes were the most commonly found as univalents at metaphase I. Statistically significant heterogeneity was found for meiotic abnormalities among fertile men, caused by interindividual variation in the level of dissociated sex chromosomes (ranging from 3.2% to 43.7%). The mean total percentage of meiotic abnormalities in spermatocytes I from fertile men was 27.4%, 1.7 times higher than those described a few decades ago in fertile and even in infertile men.
Conclusion(s): Fertile men are a heterogeneous group for meiotic errors, with individuals showing percentages of meiotic abnormalities as high as 50%. From these findings, caution is recommended when using meiotic studies to diagnose and provide genetic counselling to patients consulting for infertility. (Fertil Steril(R) 2011;95:141-6.

• 出版日期2011-1