Comparison of sperm PLCζ protein and DNA damage between fertile and infertile men

Sperm-specific phospholipase C zeta (PLCζ) protein is expressed during spermatogenesis and plays a main role during oocyte activation. In this study, the expression of sperm PLCζ protein and DNA damage in fertile and infertile men was assessed.
In this case-control study, semen samples were collected from 15 fertile and 10 infertile men candidated for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Sperm parameters, the expression of PLCζ protein, and DNA damage were assessed by the World Health Organization (2010) protocol, Western Blot, and TUNEL assay, respectively.
The quality of sperm parameters were significantly lower in the infertile men compared with the fertile men. In addition, the expression of PLCζ protein was significantly lower, and percentage of sperm DNA damage were significantly higher in infertile men than fertile men.
Our results clearly showed that low or absence expression of PLCζ and sperm DNA damage could be considered as factors involved in failed fertilization in these infertile men. Therefore, the evaluation of some tests such as PLCζ protein and chromatin tests to assess fertilization potential of a semen sample for infertile men are recommended.