INUENDO
Biopersistent organochlorines in diet and human fertility. Epidemiologic studies of time of pregnancy and semen quality in Inuit and EU populations
Informazioni Generali
- Coordinatore:
- UNIV. AARHUS (AU) (Danimarca)
- Responsabile:
- SPANO' MARCELLO - SSPT-TECS-BIORISC (CASACCIA)
- Ruolo ENEA:
- PARTNER
- Sito WEB:
- Sito WEB non disponibile
Programmi Europei
- Programma:
- Quinto Programma Quadro UE (1998-2002) -> QUALITA' VITA (1998-2002) (RST - Progetto di RST)
Descrizione e Attività
Descrizione Generale
Temporal and regional trends of malignant and reproductive disorders have renewed interest in environmental pollutants. Biopersistent organochlorines (POC) in food is an important source of environmental exposure to xenohormones. The objective of this project is to characterize the impact of dietary POCs on human fertility and to provide evidence in support of or against the environmental hormone hypothesis. Inuit people in Greenland, Scandinavian fishermen’s families and population samples from Poland and Ukraine are selected for studies of time taken to conceive, semen quality and endocrine disruption. The study includes people with documented body burdens of POCs ranking among the highest in the world. We set out to corroborate or reject that high dietary intake of POC causes delayed time to conception because of impaired spermatogenesis due to disturbed gonadal development in prenatal life. The project will contribute scientific knowledge as basis for appropriate assessment and management of risk related to consumption of POC contaminated diet and provide strong evidence in support of or against the hormonal disruption hypothesis. The objectives of the INUENDO study are to unravel the impact of environmental exposure to xenobiotic compounds with hormon-like actions on human fertility. We set up a series of interrelated studies in Inuit and European populations with a high contrast of exposure to study: (i) Time to pregnancy as a measure of a couple’s joint reproductive performance; (ii) Semen quantity and quality to substantiate whether possible effects on couples fertility are attributable to reduced male fecundity; (iii) Reproductive hormones in adults and male offspring to indicate whether a possible adverse effect on time to pregnancy or semen quality is attributable to disruption of sex hormone regulation; (iv) Total estrogenic and androgenic activities in blood cleared for endogenous steroid hormones as a direct measure of the potential hormon-like action of POC and other environmental pollutants.
Attività svolta da ENEA
ENEA will contribute to the characterization of semen quantity and quality to substantiate whether possible effects on couple fertility are attributable to reduced male fecundity. ENEA will analyze sperm chromatin integrity by the flow cytometric technique Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) on some 800 semen samples collected in Greenland, Sweden, Poland and Ukraine. The SCSA results, in terms of DNA fragmentation Index and DNA stainability, will be correlated with other biomarkers of exposure to biopersistent organochlorines, with reproductive hormone levels, with WHO standard semen quality analysis, and with the results of other sperm genotoxic assays such as markers of abortive apoptosis and ratio of sperm sex chromosomes. The SCSA has already successfully been applied to medium- to large-scale epidemiological studies, but the INUENDO project represents by far the largest sperm chromatin integrity survey ever attempted in the field of molecular epidemiology.
Dati Finanziari (in euro)
Costo Eleggibile
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Durata del Progetto
Partner (2)
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