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Apoptose au cours de la spermatogenèse et dans le sperme éjaculé

Apoptosis in spermatogenesis and in ejaculated sperm

Resume

La mort cellulaire programmée consiste en une élimination active et régulée de cellules bien identifiées pendant l’embryogenèse et la vie adulte. L’apoptose est une forme particulière de mort cellulaire programmée avec des caractéristiques morphologiques et biochimiques spécifiques. L’un des buts de la mort cellulaire programmée est d’éliminer les cellules anormales ou superflues afin de maintenir l’homéostasie au sein des tissus. L’épithélium séminifère en renouvellement rapide est une cible de choix pour l’apoptose qui explique le faible rendement de la spermatogenèse et les “générations manquantes”. L’apoptose se manifeste ainsi lors du déclenchement de la spermatogenèse, à la puberté, puis intervient chez l’adulte en régulant et contrôlant la spermatogenèse normale. Un nombre anormalement élevé de cellules germinales apoptotiques peut être observé en cas de spermatogenèse anormale: cryptorchidie, arrêts de maturation, hypospermatogenèse.

La détection de l’apoptose dans les spermatozoïdes éjaculés peut se faire en microscopie électronique, mais la fragmentation de l’ADN déterminée après marquage de type TUNEL demeure la technique de référence la plus utilisée. Quelle est l’origine de cette fragmentation de l’ADN? Quelles peuvent être les conséquences de l’utilisation d’un spermatozöide à ADN fragmenté en ICSI? Quel est l’intérêt de quantifier le pourcentage de spermatozoïdes à ADN fragmenté en AMP? Nous discuterons ces différents points et proposerons l’analyse d’autres marqueurs d’apoptose dans le sperme éjaculé.

Abstract

It has become clear in recent years that programmed cell death occurs spontaneously in the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Induced germ cell apoptosis occurs at specific stages of the spermatogenic cycle and the existence of supracellular control of germ cell death during spermatogenesis has been documented. If apoptosis is a key phenomenon in the control of sperm production, the existence and role of apoptosis in ejaculated sperm cells remain controversial.

Apoptosis — as determined by DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) and ultrastructural analysis — is abnormally frequent in the sperm cells of the ejaculate of sterile men with classical biochemical and ultrastructural pattern. In this review, we discuss the possible origins of DNA damage in ejaculated human spermatozoa and the consequences of DNA damage if the apoptotic spermatozoa is used for ICSI.

Percentages of DNA fragmentation in human ejaculated sperm are correlated with fertilization rates both after FIV and ICSI. Detection of DNA fragmentation in human sperm could provide additional information about the biochemical integrity of sperm and may be used in future studies for fertilization failures not explained by conventional sperm parameters. However, the analysis of other molecular markers of apoptosis (Fas, Annexine V ...) is necessary to assess the role of apoptosis in human ejaculated sperm cells.

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Levy, R. Apoptose au cours de la spermatogenèse et dans le sperme éjaculé. Androl. 9, 449–458 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03034661

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