Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec;54(11):e14587.
doi: 10.1111/and.14587. Epub 2022 Sep 15.

Evaluation of sperm DNA fragmentation in male infertility

Zeynep Caliskan  1 , Canan Kucukgergin  2 , Gulsan Aktan  3 , Ates Kadioglu  3 , Gul Ozdemirler  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of sperm DNA fragmentation in male infertility

Zeynep Caliskan et al. Andrologia. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Sperm DNA integrity could be considered a biological marker of sperm quality and may affect fertilization, embryonic development, and pregnancy outcome. The study aimed to investigate the connection between semen characteristics and sperm DNA damage in infertile patients. Standard semen analysis of 536 samples was carried out following the World Health Organization (WHO) 5th edition recommendations. Sperm DNA damage was assessed by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, after preparation by direct swim-up. The slides were evaluated using a fluorescence microscope and the percentage of TUNEL-positive spermatozoa was expressed as the DNA fragmentation index (DFI). Patients were classified according to their DFI levels: group A (DFI < 15%) and group B (DFI ≥15%). Sperm total count, concentration, total and progressive motility, vitality, and normal morphology were significantly higher in group A compared to group B (p < 0.001). The results show a significant inverse correlation between DFI and patient's age, sperm total count, concentration, total and progressive motility, vitality and normal morphology. Higher DFI values were found to be strongly associated with poor sperm quality. In conclusion, combined with conventional semen analysis, assessment of sperm DFI could improve diagnostic accuracy and treatment management for patients with male infertility.

Keywords: TUNEL assay; male infertility; paternal age; semen analysis; sperm DNA fragmentation.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Aboulmaouahib, S., Madkour, A., Kaarouch, I., Sefrioui, O., Saadani, B., Copin, H., Benkhalifa, M., Louanjli, N., & Cadi, R. (2018). Impact of alcohol and cigarette smoking consumption in male fertility potential: Looks at lipid peroxidation, enzymatic antioxidant activities and sperm DNA damage. Andrologia, 50(3), e12926. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.12926
    1. Aktan, G., Doğru-Abbasoğlu, S., Küçükgergin, C., Kadıoğlu, A., Ozdemirler-Erata, G., & Koçak-Toker, N. (2013). Mystery of idiopathic male infertility: Is oxidative stress an actual risk? Fertility and Sterility, 99(5), 1211-1215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2012.11.045
    1. Amor, H., Hammadeh, M. E., Mohd, I., & Jankowski, P. M. (2022). Impact of heavy alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking on sperm DNA integrity. Andrologia, 28, e14434. https://doi.org/10.1111/and.14434
    1. Anifandis, G., Bounartzi, T., Messini, C. I., Dafopoulos, K., Sotiriou, S., & Messinis, I. E. (2014). The impact of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption on sperm parameters and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) measured by Halosperm®. Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, 290, 777-782.
    1. Aydos, O. S., Yükselten, Y., Kaplan, F., Sunguroğlu, A., & Aydos, K. (2015). Analysis of the correlation between sperm DNA integrity and conventional semen parameters in infertile men. Turkish Journal of Urology, 41(4), 191-197. https://doi.org/10.5152/tud.2015.98475

LinkOut - more resources