Sperm Telomere Length Is Positively Associated With The Quality Of Early Embryonic Development In IVF

Telomeres are non-coding tandem repeat DNA sequences,(TTAGG)n, that cap the ends of eukaryote chromosomes in association with bound proteins. telomeres play a key role in maintaining chromosomal stability and cell viability.Recently, studies have increasingly focused on telomere length, in the reproductive field, especially those studies focused on finding an association between the telomere lengths in embryos or cumulus cells and in-vitro fertilization and embryo—transfer(IVF-ET)treatment outcomes. However, because of the limitation on collecting materials, especially for oocytes, it is difficult to apply these in the clinic for predicting IVF treatment outcomes.Although at this time the role of STL is not clearly understood, an increasing number of studies have found that STL may play an essential role in reproduction. In contrast to oocytes, semen samples are easier to collect. Despite this, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports investigating the association of STL and embryo quality in human being. Objective:To address the association between sperm telomere length(STL) and early embryonic development in in-vitro fertilization and embryo—transfer(IVF-ET), and provide a predicted biological indicators of embryo quality. Methods:We used a well-established and well-validated quantitative real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) technique to measure the mean STLs in 418 couples undergoing IVF treatment and analyzed the associations between STL and IVF outcomes using Pearson’s correlation or Multivariable regression model, as appropriate. Results:1.The mean STL was positively correlated with age(r = 0.10; P = 0.041) and total sperm count/ejaculate(r= 0.28; P < 0.001).2.The mean STL was positively correlated with paternal age at conception(r = 0.16; P< 0.001) and maternal ages at conception(r = 0.19; P< 0.001).3.The mean STL was positively correlated with good quality rate(regression coefficient: 1.63; P< 0.001)and transplantable embryo rate(regression coefficient: 1.57; P< 0.001). Conclusion:We provide the report that STL is strongly associated with embryo quality in IVF. This suggests that STL plays an essential role in early embryonic development and that selecting sperm with longer telomeres might help us obtain good-quality embryos in assisted reproductive technology(ART).