[Frontiers in Bioscience E2, 165-170, January 1, 2010]

Acrylamide disturbs genomic imprinting during spermatogenesis

Zhuoqun Wang 1, 2, Shuang Lu1, 2 ,Chunmei Liu2, Nan Yao1, 2, Changyong Zhang3, Xu Ma1

1Graduate School, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100005, China, 2Department of Genetics, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing 100081, China, 3Department of Experimental Animal Center, National Research Institute for Family Planning, Beijing 100081, China

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Materials and methods
3.1. Chemicals
3.2. Animals
3.3. Bisulfate-sequencing PCR (BSP)
4. Results
4.1. PCR amplification of Igf2 DMR2
4.2. Effect of ACR on the methylation patterns of sperm CpG islands in Igf2 DMR2 19 days post-treatment
4.2. Effect of Acrylamide on the methylation patterns of sperm CpG islands in Igf2 DMR2 19 days post-treatment
5. Discussion
6. Acknowledgements
7. References

1. ABSTRACT

Acrylamide (ACR), a carcinogen for rodents and humans, exists widely in the human living environment and heat-treated carbohydrate foodstuffs. Increasing evidence has demonstrated that ACR can cause chromosomal damage in somatic cells and mutagenesis. However, little is known about whether ACR can disturb genomic imprinting during spermatogenesis. We investigated the effects of ACR on methylation patterns of rat sperm genes. The results showed that after oral administration of ACR to rats for two weeks, methylation of some cytosines in the CpG islands of the differentially methylated region (DMR2) of sperm gene insulin-like growth factor II (Igf2), which is still present at the 19th day, disappeared on the 35th day. Furthermore, the extent by which ACR causes methylation defects varies in animals. Our findings indicate that mitotic spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes are sensitive to ACR-induced genomic imprinting aberration, suggesting that ACR predominantly interferes with the remodeling process in spermatogenesis.