Dionisios Sakkas, PhD

Spermatogenesis is a complex process leading to the production of a haploid cell that possesses a nucleus that is up to 1/40th the size of a normal somatic cell. In the human the process is not always foolproof and abnormal semen parameters remains as one of the most common causes of sub-fertility amongst couples. In the human, a strong association has been found between abnormal semen parameters and the presence of nuclear DNA strand breaks in ejaculated sperm. Two likely mechanisms that could function abnormally and be responsible for the DNA strand breaks are the disruption of ordered testicular apoptosis during spermatogenesis, in particular the Fas mediated pathway, and / or the faulty remodeling of the DNA during spermiogenesis. The purpose of our work is to understand how these mechanisms function during normal spermatogenesis and how they impact on male infertility. Furthermore, we are interested in the role an abnormal paternal genome may play if it successfully fertilizes an oocyte.