Evidence mapPaperPMID 39819375Full record

ReviewClinical epigenetics2025

How do lifestyle and environmental factors influence the sperm epigenome? Effects on sperm fertilising ability, embryo development, and offspring health.

Ayazhan Akhatova, Celine Jones, Kevin Coward, Marc Yeste

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Clinical epigenetics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Review
  12. Review
  13. Environmental and Genetic Perturbations of the Sperm Epigenome.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026
    Review
  14. Review
  15. Genetic and Epigenetic Risks of Male Infertility in ART.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Review
  19. Article
  20. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Ayazhan AkhatovaNuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
Celine JonesNuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
Kevin CowardNuffield Department of Women's and Reproductive Health, Level 3, Women's Centre, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
Marc YesteBiotechnology of Animal and Human Reproduction (TechnoSperm), Institute of Food and Agricultural Technology, University of Girona, 17003, Girona, Spain. marc.yeste@udg.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2209-340X

Funding

Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021-SGR-00900Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats ICREA Academia
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Recent studies support the influence of paternal lifestyle and diet before conception on the health of the offspring via epigenetic inheritance through sperm DNA methylation, histone modification, and small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) expression and regulation. Smoking may induce DNA hypermethylation in genes related to anti-oxidation and insulin resistance. Paternal diet and obesity are associated with greater risks of metabolic dysfunction in offspring via epigenetic alterations in the sperm. Metabolic changes, such as high blood glucose levels and increased body weight, are commonly observed in the offspring of fathers subjected to chronic stress, in addition to an enhanced risk of depressive-like behaviour and increased sensitivity to stress in both the F0 and F1 generations. DNA methylation is correlated with alterations in sperm quality and the ability to fertilise oocytes, possibly via a differentially regulated MAKP81IP3 signalling pathway. Paternal exposure to toxic endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is also linked to the transgenerational transmission of increased predisposition to disease, infertility, testicular disorders, obesity, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) in females through epigenetic changes during gametogenesis. As the success of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is also affected by paternal diet, BMI, and alcohol consumption, its outcomes could be improved by modifying factors that are dependent on male lifestyle choices and environmental factors. This review discusses the importance of epigenetic signatures in sperm-including DNA methylation, histone retention, and sncRNA-for sperm functionality, early embryo development, and offspring health. We also discuss the mechanisms by which paternal lifestyle and environmental factors (obesity, smoking, EDCs, and stress) may impact the sperm epigenome.

Indexed as

Embryonic DevelopmentEpigenomeLife StyleSpermatozoaDNA MethylationEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleFertilizationHumansMaleObesityPaternal ExposureEnvironmental factorsEpigeneticsLifestyleOffspring healthSperm

Identifiers

PMID39819375
PMCPMC11740528

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.