» Articles » PMID: 26801897

Intergenerational Transfer of Epigenetic Information in Sperm

Overview
Specialty General Medicine
Date 2016 Jan 24
PMID 26801897
Citations 53
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

The inheritance of information beyond DNA sequence, known as epigenetic inheritance, has been implicated in a multitude of biological processes from control of plant flowering time to cancer in humans. In addition to epigenetic inheritance that occurs in dividing cells of a multicellular organism, it is also increasingly clear that at least some epigenetic information is transmitted via the gametes in a multitude of organisms, including mammals. Here, I review the evidence for epigenetic information carriers in mammalian sperm, and explore the emerging field of intergenerational transfer of environmental information.

Citing Articles

Paternal Cyanidin-3-O-Glucoside Diet Improved High-Fat, High-Fructose Diet-Induced Intergenerational Inheritance in Male Offspring's Susceptibility to High-Fat Diet-Induced Testicular and Sperm Damage.

Li Y, Liu L, Zhang Y, Bai S, Jiang Y, Lai C Reprod Sci. 2025; .

PMID: 39836315 DOI: 10.1007/s43032-024-01780-9.


Acquired sperm hypomethylation by gestational arsenic exposure is re-established in both the paternal and maternal genomes of post-epigenetic reprogramming embryos.

Nohara K, Suzuki T, Okamura K, Kawai T, Nakabayashi K Epigenetics Chromatin. 2025; 18(1):4.

PMID: 39815295 PMC: 11737231. DOI: 10.1186/s13072-025-00569-7.


Exploring the Epigenetic Landscape of Spermatozoa: Impact of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Supplementation on DNA Methylation and Hydroxymethylation.

Hug E, Renaud Y, Guiton R, Ben Sassi M, Marcaillou C, Moazamian A Antioxidants (Basel). 2025; 13(12.

PMID: 39765848 PMC: 11726892. DOI: 10.3390/antiox13121520.


Evidence base for non-genetic inheritance of environmental exposures in non-human animals and plants: a map of evidence syntheses with bibliometric analysis.

Macartney E, Drobniak S, Nakagawa S, Lagisz M Environ Evid. 2024; 12(1):1.

PMID: 39294796 PMC: 11378868. DOI: 10.1186/s13750-022-00290-y.


A sperm-enriched 5'fragment of tRNA-Valine regulates preimplantation embryonic transcriptome and development.

Liu S, Holmes A, Katzman S, Sharma U bioRxiv. 2024; .

PMID: 39211093 PMC: 11361008. DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.08.607197.


References
1.
Lumey L, Stein A, Kahn H, van der Pal-de Bruin K, Blauw G, Zybert P . Cohort profile: the Dutch Hunger Winter families study. Int J Epidemiol. 2007; 36(6):1196-204. DOI: 10.1093/ije/dym126. View

2.
JOHNSON G, Sendler E, Lalancette C, Hauser R, Diamond M, Krawetz S . Cleavage of rRNA ensures translational cessation in sperm at fertilization. Mol Hum Reprod. 2011; 17(12):721-6. PMC: 3212859. DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gar054. View

3.
Ostermeier G, Miller D, Huntriss J, Diamond M, Krawetz S . Reproductive biology: delivering spermatozoan RNA to the oocyte. Nature. 2004; 429(6988):154. DOI: 10.1038/429154a. View

4.
Watkins A, Sinclair K . Paternal low protein diet affects adult offspring cardiovascular and metabolic function in mice. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2014; 306(10):H1444-52. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00981.2013. View

5.
Carone B, Fauquier L, Habib N, Shea J, Hart C, Li R . Paternally induced transgenerational environmental reprogramming of metabolic gene expression in mammals. Cell. 2010; 143(7):1084-96. PMC: 3039484. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2010.12.008. View