X-Message-Number: 11526
Date: Wed, 7 Apr 1999 14:27:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: can alcohol prevent DNA damage?

Authors
  Tateno H.  Wakayama T.  Ward WS.  Yanagimachi R.
Institution
  Asahikawa Medical College, Japan.
Title
  Can alcohol retain the
  reproductive and genetic potential of sperm nuclei? Chromosome analysis of
  mouse spermatozoa stored in alcohol.
Source
  Zygote.  6(3):233-8, 1998 Aug.
Abstract
  Alcohol is known to preserve genomic DNA and the primary
  structure of sperm protamines. To determine whether alcohol
  can retain the genetic and reproductive
  potential of mammalian sperm nuclei, mature mouse spermatozoa were stored in
  70% ethanol or propanol for up to 2 months before injection into oocytes.
  Live offspring were obtained after injection of spermatozoa stored in 70%
  ethanol for 1 day at -20 degrees C. About 20% of the spermatozoa stored under
  this condition had normal chromosomes. The remaining 80% of spermatozoa and
  all the spermatozoa stored in 70% ethanol for 2 months had structurally
  aberrant chromosomes, and none could support the development of normal
  embryos. High concentrations of alcohol do not alter the
  primary structure of either DNA or small-molecular-weight protamines.
  However, alcohol may modify protamine-protamine or
  protamine-DNA interactions in a manner that results in the induction of DNA
  strand breaks during sperm chromatin decondensation within the oocyte. The
  limited success in obtaining normal offspring with ethanol-stored spermatozoa
  is encouraging. It may be possible to overcome these problems and develop a
  simple method for preserving mammalian spermatozoa without freezing.

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