Environmental Exposures, Sperm Epigenetics and Early-life Development

Urinary concentrations of phthalate and phthalate alternative metabolites and sperm DNA methylation: A multi-cohort and meta-analysis of men in preconception studies. Nowak K, Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Maxwell DL, Sawant S, Paskavitz A, Ford JB, Minguez-Alarcon L, Calafat AM, Hauser R, Pilsner JR. Environ Int. 2024 Oct;192:109049. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.109049. PubMed

Mixtures of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) alter sperm methylation and long-term reprogramming of offspring liver and fat transcriptome. Maxwell DL, Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Roth K, Nowak K, Sawant S, Paskavitz AL, Liu W, Gurdziel K, Petriello MC, Richard Pilsner J. Environment International, vol. 186, April 2024, p. 108577. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108577. PubMed

Paternal Preconception Phthalate Exposure Alters Sperm Methylome and Embryonic Programming. Oluwayiose OA, Marcho C, Wu H, Houle E, Krawetz SA, Suvorov A, Mager J, Pilsner JR. Environment International, vol. 155, Oct. 2021, p. 106693., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106693. PubMed **

**NIEHS Paper of the Month for September 2021

Peripubertal Serum Dioxin Concentrations and Subsequent Sperm Methylome Profiles of Young Russian Adults. Pilsner JR, Shershebnev A, Medvedeva YA, Suvorov A, Wu H, Goltsov A, Loukianov E, Andreeva T, Gusev F, Manakhov A, Smigulina L, Logacheva M, Shtratnikova V, Kuznetsova I, Speranskiy-Podobed P, Burns JS, Williams PL, Korrick S, Lee MM, Rogaev E, Hauser R, Sergeyev O. Reproductive Toxicology, vol. 78, June 2018, pp. 40–49., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2018.03.007. PubMed

Perinatal Exposure to Low Dose 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-47) Alters Sperm DNA Methylation in Adult Rats. Suvorov A, Shershebnev A, Wu H, Medvedeva Y, Sergeyev O, Pilsner JR. Reproductive Toxicology, vol. 75, Jan. 2018, pp. 136–143., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reprotox.2017.10.009. PubMed

Preconception Urinary Phthalate Concentrations and Sperm DNA Methylation Profiles among Men Undergoing IVF Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study. Wu H, Estill MS, Shershebnev A, Suvorov A, Krawetz SA, Whitcomb BW, Dinnie H, Rahil T, Sites CK, Pilsner JR. Human Reproduction, vol. 32, no. 11, 12 Nov. 2017, pp. 2159–2169., https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex283. PubMed

Parental contributions to early embryo development: influences of urinary phthalate and phthalate alternatives among couples undergoing IVF treatment. Wu H, Ashcraft L, Whitcomb BW, Rahil T, Tougias E, Sites CK, Pilsner JR. Environment International, vol. 155, Oct. 2021, p. 106693., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2021.106693. PubMed


Male Aging, Sperm Epigenetic Aging, and Reproductive Success

Associations between Sperm Epigenetic Age and Semen Parameters: An Evaluation of Clinical and Non-Clinical Cohorts. Sawant S, Oluwayiose OA, Nowak K, Maxwell DL, Houle E, Paskavitz AL, Saddiki H, Bertolla RP, Pilsner JR. Curr Issues Mol Biol. 2024 Feb 16;46(2):1567-1578. doi: 10.3390/cimb46020101. PMID: 38392219; PMCID: PMC10887546. PubMed

Urinary phthalate metabolites and their mixtures are associated with advanced sperm epigenetic aging in a general population. Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Wu H, Whitcomb BW, Mumford SL, Schisterman EF, Suvorov A, Balzer LB, Pilsner JR. Environ Res. 2022 Nov;214(Pt 4):114115. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114115. Epub 2022 Aug 19. PMID: 35988832. PubMed

Sperm epigenetic clock associates with pregnancy outcomes in the general population. Pilsner JR, Saddiki H, Whitcomb BW, Suvorov A, Buck Louis GM, Mumford SL, Schisterman EF, Oluwayiose OA, Balzer LB. Hum Reprod. 2022 Jun 30;37(7):1581-1593. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deac084. PMID: 35552703; PMCID: PMC9247414. PubMed

Age-associated epigenetic changes in mammalian sperm: implications for offspring health and development. Ashapkin V, Suvorov A, Pilsner JR, Krawetz SA, Sergeyev O. Hum Reprod Update. 2022 Sep 6:dmac033. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmac033. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36066418. PubMed

Aging-Induced Changes in Sperm DNA Methylation Are Modified by Low Dose of Perinatal Flame Retardants. Pilsner JR, Shershebnev A, Wu H, Marcho C, Dribnokhodova O, Shtratnikova V, Sergeyev O, Suvorov A. Epigenomics, vol. 13, no. 4, Feb. 2021, pp. 285–297., https://doi.org/10.2217/epi-2020-0404. PubMed

Sperm DNA Methylation Mediates the Association of Male Age on Reproductive Outcomes among Couples Undergoing Infertility Treatment. Oluwayiose OA, Wu H, Saddiki H, Whitcomb BW, Balzer LB, Brandon N, Suvorov A, Tayyab R, Sites CK, Hill L, Marcho C, Pilsner JR. Scientific Reports, vol. 11, no. 1, 5 Feb. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80857-2. PubMed

Aging Induces Profound Changes in sncRNA in Rat Sperm and These Changes Are Modified by Perinatal Exposure to Environmental Flame Retardant. Suvorov A, Pilsner JR, Naumov V, Shtratnikova V, Zheludkevich A, Gerasimov E, Logacheva M, Sergeyev O. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 21, no. 21, 4 Nov. 2020, p. 8252., https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21218252. PubMed


Small Non-Coding RNAs, Extracellular Vesicles, and Reproductive Health

Non-coding RNAs from seminal plasma extracellular vesicles and success of live birth among couples undergoing fertility treatment. Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Whitcomb BW, Suvorov A, Rahil T, Sites CK, Krawetz SA, Visconti PE, Pilsner JR. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2023 Jun 22;11:1174211. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1174211. PMID: 37427387; PMCID: PMC10323426. PubMed

Urinary phthalate metabolites and small non-coding RNAs from seminal plasma extracellular vesicles among men undergoing infertility treatment. Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Whitcomb BW, Suvorov A, Rahil T, Sites CK, Krawetz SA, Visconti PE, Pilsner JR. Environ Pollut. 2023 Mar 30;329:121529. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121529. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37003585. PubMed

Altered non-coding RNA profiles of seminal plasma extracellular vesicles of men with poor semen quality undergoing in vitro fertilization treatment. Oluwayiose OA, Houle E, Whitcomb BW, Suvorov A, Rahil T, Sites CK, Krawetz SA, Visconti P, Pilsner JR. Andrology. 2023 May;11(4):677-686. doi: 10.1111/andr.13295. Epub 2022 Oct 2. PMID: 36111950; PMCID: PMC10017372. PubMed


Male Reproductive Biomarkers

Exploring the internal exposome of seminal plasma with semen quality and live birth: A Pilot Study. Houle E, Li Y, Schroder M, McRitchie SL, Rahil T, Sites CK, Jenkins Sumner S, Pilsner JR. Syst Biol Reprod Med. 2023 Apr 25:1-14. doi: 10.1080/19396368.2023.2195964. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37098216. PubMed

Association between Sperm Mitochondarial DNA Copy Number and Nuclear DNA Methylation. Oluwayiose OA, Josyula S, Houle E, Marcho C, Brian W Whitcomb, Rahil T, Sites CK, Pilsner JR. Epigenomics, 15 Dec. 2020, https://doi.org/10.2217/epi-2020-0253. PubMed

Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Biomarkers and Couple Fecundity. Rosati AJ, Whitcomb BW, Brandon N, Buck Louis GM, Mumford SL, Schisterman EF, Pilsner JR. Human Reproduction, vol. 35, no. 11, 1 Nov. 2020, pp. 2619–2625., https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deaa191. PubMed

Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Measures and Semen Parameters among Men Undergoing Fertility Treatment. Wu H, Huffman AM, Whitcomb BW, Josyula S, Labrie S, Tougias E, Rahil T, Sites CK, Pilsner JR. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, vol. 38, no. 1, Jan. 2019, pp. 66–75., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2018.10.004. PubMed

Associations of urinary phthalate metabolites and lipid peroxidation with sperm mitochondrial DNA copy number and deletions. Huffman AM, Wu H, Rosati A, Rahil T, Sites CK, Whitcomb BW, Richard Pilsner J. Environmental Research, vol. 163, May 2018, p. 10-15. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.023. PubMed

Associations of Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number and Deletion Rate with Fertilization and Embryo Development in a Clinical Setting. Wu H, Whitcomb BW, Huffman A, Brandon N, Labrie S, Tougias E, Lynch K, Rahil T, Sites CK, Pilsner JR. Human Reproduction, vol. 34, no. 1, 14 Jan. 2018, pp. 163–170., https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey330. PubMed


Reviews

Extracellular Vesicle Cargo of the Male Reproductive Tract and the Paternal Preconception Environment. Ayaz A, Houle E, Pilsner JR. Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, vol. 67, no. 2, 25 Apr. 2021, pp. 103–111., https://doi.org/10.1080/19396368.2020.1867665. PubMed

The Preconception Environment and Sperm Epigenetics. Marcho C, Oluwayiose OA, Pilsner JR. Andrology, vol. 8, no. 4, 21 Feb. 2020, pp. 924–942., https://doi.org/10.1111/andr.12753. PubMed

Environmental Susceptibility of the Sperm Epigenome during Windows of Male Germ Cell Development. Wu H, Hauser R, Krawetz SA, Pilsner JR. Current Environmental Health Reports, vol. 2, no. 4, 11 Dec. 2015, pp. 356–366., https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-015-0067-7. PubMed


Method Development

Aclust2.0: a revamped unsupervised R tool for Infinium methylation beadchips data analyses. Oluwayiose OA, Wu H, Gao F, Baccarelli AA, Sofer T, Pilsner JR. Bioinformatics. 2022 Aug 26:btac583. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btac583. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36028931. PubMed

Optimization of Small RNA Extraction and Comparative Study of NGS Library Preparation from Low Count Sperm Samples. Shtratnikova V, Naumov V, Bezuglov V, Zheludkevich A, Smigulina L, Dikov Y, Denisova T, Suvorov A, Pilsner JR, Hauser R, Krawetz SA, Sergeyev O. Systems Biology in Reproductive Medicine, vol. 67, no. 3, 4 June 2021, pp. 230–243., https://doi.org/10.1080/19396368.2021.1912851. PubMed

Rapid Method for the Isolation of Mammalian Sperm DNA. Wu H, de Gannes MK, Luchetti G, Pilsner JR. BioTechniques, vol. 58, no. 6, June 2015, pp. 293–300., https://doi.org/10.2144/000114280. PubMed


Additional Publications

A complete list of publications can be found on PubMed.