Aging deteriorates quality of sperm produced by male mice with partial Yq deletion.

The aim of the study was to assess the cumulative effects of aging and Y-chromosome long arm deletion on sperm quality parameters. Motility, mitochondrial activity, and head morphology were evaluated for sperm of 3- and 12-month-old males from B10.BR-Ydel and B10.BR congenic mouse strains. The study revealed that quality and fertilizing potential of sperm produced by younger and older B10.BR males persist on similar levels, but worsen significantly with age of B10.BR-Ydel males. The findings imply that partial Yq deletions might be more harmful for spermiogenesis in advancing age and may be applicable to other species including humans.

ABBREVIATIONS: AZF: azoospermia factor; MSYq: male-specific region of the Y-chromosome long arm.