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. 2021 Feb;53(1):e13822.
doi: 10.1111/and.13822. Epub 2020 Oct 11.

Seminal cell-free DNA and sperm characteristic's: An added biomarker for male infertility investigation

Pierre Di Pizio  1   2 , Noemie Celton  1 , Pierre Alain Menoud  3 , Stéphanie Belloc  4 , Martine Cohen Bacrie  5 , Naima Belhadri-Mansouri  1 , Nathalie Rives  2 , Rosalie Cabry  1 , Moncef Benkhalifa  1
Affiliations

Seminal cell-free DNA and sperm characteristic's: An added biomarker for male infertility investigation

Pierre Di Pizio et al. Andrologia. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Cell-free DNA (Cf-DNA) fragments may constitute an easy-to-measure molecular tool for guiding the choice of care provided to infertile couples who benefit assisted reproductive technology (ART) programmes. Data on Cf-DNA levels in the seminal plasma of men with sperm alterations are scarce. The objective of the present study was to quantify the presence of Cf-DNA in semen by using a quantitative real-time PCR. We compared men with abnormal sperm characteristics (n = 21) with normospermic controls (n = 21). The PCR assay evidenced significantly higher mean Cf-DNA levels in patients with sperm abnormalities than in controls (2.09 versus 1.18 µg/ml, respectively; p = .0003). The Cf-DNA levels were notably higher in men with azoospermia (3.65 µg/ml, versus 1.34 µg/ml in matched controls; p = .03) and men with teratozoospermia (1.80 µg/ml, versus 1.29 µg/ml in matched controls; p = .008). Our data report a significant association between elevated Cf-DNA levels and sperm abnormalities. These results may open up new diagnostic and prognostic perspectives in male infertility.

Keywords: infertility; seminal free DNA; sperm characteristics.

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