Paternal age and sperm methylation status

摘要

The elaboration of knowledge regarding the human genome has simultaneously given rise to a plethora of additional areas of research interest and for which an appreciation of their in-fluence(s) on human genesis has grown. One area, termed epi-genetics, focuses on nongenomic influences on gene function and that reside outside the DNA sequence. Put simply, methylation near specific loci (CpG islands) adjacent or even distal (CpG island shores) from gene promotors regulates gene expression. In healthy individuals, CpG islands are, in general, methylation free. CpG areas in the genome not associated with CpG islands are methylated. Methylation is involved in gene silencing. The article by Jenkins et al. (1) used donor semen from healthy normal males to investigate paternal aging and associated alterations (methylation status) in epigenetic regulatory loci, for which changes in regulatory function may have a potential impact on the well-being of offspring in either adolescence or adulthood.