Sperm Dna Fragmentation

Abstract

Several techniques have been developed to measure the amount of sperm DNA damage in an effort to identify more objective parameters for evaluation of infertile men. The integrity of sperm DNA influences a couple's fertility and helps predict the chances of pregnancy and its successful outcome. The available tests of sperm DNA damage require additional large-scale clinical trails before their integration into routine clinical practice. The physiological/molecular integrity of sperm DNA is a novel parameter of semen quality and a potential fertility predictor. Although DNA integrity assessment appears to be a logical biomarker of sperm quality, it is not being assessed as a routine part of semen analysis by clinical andrologists. Extensive investigation has been conducted for the comparative evolution of these techniques. However, some of these techniques require expensive instrumentation for optimal and unbiased analysis, are labor intensive, or require the use of enzymes whose activity and accessibility to DNA breaks may be irregular. Thus, these techniques are recommended for basic research rather than for routine andrology laboratories. Sperm chromatin structure evaluation is applied to detect male factors that may affect the chance of success with IVF as well as natural fertility. Further research is needed to define the optimal test of sperm chromatin structure. The clinical application of this test will evolve as well.

Effect of single-layer centrifugation or washing on frozen–thawed donkey semen quality: Do they have the same effect regardless of the quality of the sample?

“…Although preservation of sperm membranes and motility are important measures of sperm quality, they may not reveal the changes in DNA. The analysis of DNA fragmentation (sDF) has explained the infertility of individuals with apparently normal seminograms [24,25]. This approach is particularly interesting because DNA fragmentation correlates poorly with classical parameters of semen quality [26] as also occurs in donkey sperm [27].…”

Molecular Andrology as Related to Sperm Dna Fragmentation/Sperm Chromatin Biotechnology

“…This can be avoided by quantifying the amount and type of genomic damage in sperm with the application of novel andrological techniques. Shafik et al [44] was the first to report on the biochemical and biotechnological parameters of sperm DNA fragmentation.…”

Current Assessment of Sperm DNA Integrity

“…There are three major obstacles facing sperm chromatin studies [Shafik et al 2006]: the first problem is the current abundance of diverse methods to assess sperm chromatin integrity. Each individual method appears to have its pros and cons, but it is virtually impossible for all researchers to agree on a single definitive test.…”