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Use of antioxidant could ameliorate the negative impact of etoposide on human sperm DNA during chemotherapy.

Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Microscopy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UP), Porto, Portugal. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Microscopy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UP), Porto, Portugal; Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Microscopy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UP), Porto, Portugal; Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Health Institute of Research and Innovation (IPATIMUP/i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Centre for Reproductive Genetics A. Barros (CGR), Porto, Portugal. Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Health Institute of Research and Innovation (IPATIMUP/i3S), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Centre for Reproductive Genetics A. Barros (CGR), Porto, Portugal. Laboratory of Cell Biology, Department of Microscopy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UP), Porto, Portugal; Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal. Electronic address: msousa@icbas.up.pt.

Reproductive biomedicine online. 2020;(6):856-866
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Abstract

RESEARCH QUESTION A previous study showed that N-acetylcysteine (NAC), used after in-vitro exposure to the gonadotoxic chemotherapeutic drug etoposide, has the ability to decrease DNA damage in human spermatozoa; however, it showed no benefit when used before exposure. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the NAC on the preservation of sperm quality during in-vitro exposure to etoposide. DESIGN Twenty semen samples were submitted to four experimental conditions: control, NAC-only incubation, etoposide-only incubation, and concomitant etoposide and NAC incubation. After in-vitro incubation, semen parameters, sperm chromatin condensation, sperm DNA fragmentation, sperm oxidative stress and sperm metabolism were used to evaluate the role of NAC in protecting human spermatozoa from etoposide. RESULTS Etoposide did not affect semen parameters, nor did it cause sperm oxidative damage or alterations in glycolytic profile. However, it induced chromatin decondensation and DNA fragmentation, which were fully prevented by NAC. CONCLUSIONS NAC was able to protect sperm DNA integrity during etoposide treatment in vitro, suggesting that NAC may be useful as an adjuvant agent in preserving male fertility during chemotherapy treatments.