Clin Exp Reprod Med.  2011 Mar;38(1):10-17. 10.5653/cerm.2011.38.1.10.

Integrity of human sperm DNA assessed by the neutral comet assay and its relationship to semen parameters and clinical outcomes for the IVF-ET program

• Chi HJ
• Chung DY
• Choi SY
• Kim JH
• Kim GY
• Lee JS
• Lee HS
• Kim MH
• Roh SI

• KMID: 1805483
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5653/cerm.2011.38.1.10

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To explore potential relationships between sperm DNA integrity and both semen parameters and clinical outcomes.
METHODS
Semen analysis of 498 samples was performed according to the 2010 criteria of the World Health Organization. The sperm DNA fragmentation Index (DFI) of the semen samples was assessed using a neutral comet assay.
RESULTS
Sperm DFI showed a significant correlation with semen parameters, including the patient's age, sperm viability, motility, morphology, and number of leukocytes (p<0.05). The sperm DFI values for asthenozoospermic (15.2%), oligoteratozoospermic (18.3%), asthenoteratozoospermic (17.5%), and oligoasthenoteratozoospermic semen samples (21.3%) were significantly higher than that observed in normozoospermic semen samples (10.5%, p<0.05). A sperm DFI value of 14% was used as a threshold of sperm DFI in assessing whether DNA was highly damaged. In 114 IVF-ET cycles, the fertilization rate of the sperm DFI <14% group (70 cycles, 61.7%) was significantly higher than that observed for the > or =14% group (44 cycles, 55.3%), but there was no difference in the other clinical outcomes between the two groups. In the > or =14% group, the pregnancy rates of the ICSI cycles (40.0%) and half-ICSI (44.0%) were higher than conventional IVF cycles (30.7%), but the difference was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSION
Along with the conventional semen analysis, the sperm DFI assessed using the comet assay was shown to improve the quality of the semen evaluation. To evaluate the precise effect of ICSI on pregnancy rates in the patients who demonstrate high sperm DFI values, further study is necessary.

Keyword

Spermatozoa; Comet Assay; Semen Analysis; Clinical Outcome; Human

MeSH Terms

Comet Assay
DNA
DNA Fragmentation
Fertilization
Humans
Leukocytes
Pregnancy Rate
Semen
Semen Analysis
Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic
Spermatozoa
World Health Organization
DNA