Sperm DNA damage and its role in IVF and ICSI

Abstract

While the semen analysis has traditionally been relied upon to differentiate fertile and infertile men, its utility has been questioned in the current era of assisted reproductive technologies. The desire for more sophisticated diagnostic and predictive tools has led to increased use of sperm DNA damage in the management of male infertility. Despite the availability of numerous assays to measure sperm DNA damage, our understanding of the etiology, measurement, and clinical implications of sperm DNA damage remains incomplete. While the current evidence is fraught with heterogeneity that complicates attempts at comparison and meta-analysis, there does appear to be a role for sperm DNA damage in the development and maintenance of pregnancy in the era of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). However, as noted by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the routine and widespread use of sperm DNA damage testing is not yet supported. Further studies are needed to standardize the measurement of sperm DNA damage and to clarify the exact role of sperm DNA damage within the myriad of other male and female factors contributing to reproductive outcomes in IVF and ICSI.

Effects ofChlamydia trachomatisinfection on sperm chromatin condensation and DNA integrity

“…Assessment of DNA integrity may be a valuable marker of fertility for both animals and men. High level of chromatin damage has negative impact on both natural and ART conception (Bach & Schlegel, ; Oleszczuk, Giwercman, & Bungum, ). Although experimentally induced in vivo DNA damage of sperm is not possible in humans, strong associations have been shown between paternal genome damage by chemotherapeutic agents and embryo development in animals (Grenier, Robaire, & Hales, ).…”

Physiological and Pathological Roles of Free Radicals in Male Reproduction

“…Shortening the insemination timeframes (up to 1-2 hours or less) may reduce ROS overgeneration in culture media and possibly improve fertilization, embryogenesis and pregnancy rates [77,179].…”

“…Unfortunately, no successful method to prevent or treat sperm DNA damage is currently available [77].…”

“…The density gradient technique is able to separate leukocytes and immature or damaged spermatozoa from normal spermatozoa, which may be subsequently used in ARTs [77,179,180].…”

“…When intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization (IVF) is used, such damage does not represent a cause of concern as damage to the sperm membrane lipids ensures that fertilization will not occur. However, in case of intracytoplasmic sperm injection is used, this natural selection barrier may be overlooked and sperm with DNA damage may be directly injected into the ovum [77].…”