Adducts in sperm protamine and DNA vs. mutation frequency.

In mammals, variability in the genetic sensitivity of different germ-cell stages to mutagens could be the result of how much chemical reaches the different stages, what molecular targets may be affected in the different stages and whether or not repair of lesions occurs. In the mouse, several chemical mutagens have been found that cause their greatest genetic damage in late-spermatid and early-spermatozoa stages and that also bind very strongly to the protamine in these stages. Chemicals which are less genetically damaging to these stages have been found to have much less affinity for protamine. Furthermore, the level of chemical binding to DNA in late-spermatid and early-spermatozoa stages has not been correlated with the level of induced genetic damage, although DNA breakage in these sensitive stages has been shown to increase. This DNA damage is believed to indirectly result from chemical binding to sulfhydryl groups in protamine which prevents normal chromatin condensation within the sperm nucleus.