Paternal epigenetic inheritance: Do not forget the adult male environment

The alarming decrease in sperm counts and possible paternal transmission of phenotype via molecular sperm alterations that affect the development and health of children through epigenetic mechanisms show that research on environmental risk factors and implications are urgently needed.

While the adverse effects of maternal lifestyle and in utero exposures on offspring development and health are well studied, the effects of adult male preconceptional exposures have been largely ignored.

The overall goal of this project is to determine if, and how, the adult male environment may affect sperm and offspring via paternal epigenetic inheritance.

Based on our intriguing data, we hypothesize that chemical contaminants, particularly anti-androgens, can induce alterations in sperm biomolecules that are transferred to the next generation during fertilization and thereby affect offspring development via epigenetic mechanisms.

To test the hypothesis, we will conduct single cell molecular analysis and integrate animal and human studies to identify compound-induced alterations in the sperm epigenome, and determine the impact on embryogenesis, development and long-term health of the offspring.

The project can contribute to ground-breaking mechanistic understanding of how the male environment affect offspring through epigenetic inheritance.

The obtained results may also have important societal impact via new chemical regulations and male preconceptional interventions to protect child health.