Relationship between sperm DNA damage, induced acrosome reaction and viability in ICSI patients

Abstract

The DNA damage in human spermatozoa is a relevant predictor of prognosis in male infertility, whereby increased sperm DNA damage impairs the outcomes of artificial reproduction. Theoretically, DNA damage should alter the special cellular functions of human spermatozoa, and lead to diminished acrosome reaction with reduced fertilization rates. Nevertheless, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been reported to alleviate such negative outcomes due to DNA damage. This study investigated the relationship between DNA fragmentation and acrosome reaction as well as viability in ICSI patients. The study enrolled 42 men undergoing ICSI due to poor sperm parameters. The DNA fragmentation indexes (DFI) were 4-10% in 38% of the cases, and > or = 10% in 19% of the cases. The results of both acrosome reaction and viability assays showed negative correlations with DFI values in all cases and especially in cases with fertilization rates <60% (P < 0.05). However, such correlations were not found in cases with fertilization rates >60%. There were no live deliveries in patients with high DFI levels (>10%). In conclusion, negative correlations were identified between increased DNA damage, and acrosome reaction and/or viability of human spermatozoa, especially in cases with reduced fertilization rates.

Cadmium toxicity at low concentration on rabbit spermatozoa motility, morphology and membrane integrityin vitro

“…[63] A correlation between progressive motility and normal morphology with acrosome integrity was previously detected in human spermatozoa, also. [64] Another study concerning heavy metal lead with 74 and 100 mg PbCl 2 /kg body weight for four consecutive days indicated impaired motility, the effect of lead toxicity on acrosome integrity, leading to premature reaction, which may finally compromise the ability of spermatozoa to fertilize the oocyte. [59] In an experiment conducted by us concerning mercury, alterations in anterior part of head (acrosome), connection part (connection piece) and in mitochondrial segment of rabbit spermatozoa in vitro were noted at the concentration of 83.3 µg HgCl 2 /mL; [65] where as in the present study similar alterations were observed for cadmium concentrations used, alterations being prominent at the highest concentration.…”

Occupational and Lifestyle Exposures on Male Infertility: A Mini Review

“…Recent studies suggest that sperm DNA integrity may be altered by environmental exposure to some toxic chemicals [38,39]. DNA fragmentation may be an excellent marker for exposure to potential reproductive toxicants and a diagnostic tool for male infertility [40,41].…”

Whether sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation has an effect on pregnancy and miscarriage after in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Sperm DNA integrity is one of the important determinants of normal fertilization and embryo development. A number of studies have investigated the relationship between outcome of assisted reproductive technology (ART) and high DNA damage in sperm (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”