Correlation of Sperm Parameters With Sperm DNA Damage or Sperm Nucleus Chromatin Status in Oligospermic Individuals Referred to Qom Jihad Daneshgahi Infertility Treatment Center in 2017 (Iran)

Although proper morphology and motility of sperm can be one of the most important factors influencing male fertility, however, these parameters cannot play a decisive role in the health of sperm DNA. As a result, in addition to reducing the quality of sperm parameters in oligospermia individuals, sperm DNA damage or chromatin abnormalities of the sperm nucleus may also play a role in infertility. In this study, the relationship between sperm parameters and sperm DNA damage, and chromatin disorders of the sperm nucleus in oligospermia individuals was investigated.

This descriptive correlation study was performed on semen samples taken from 40 men with oligozoospermia. Thus, sperm parameters were evaluated. The fragmentation of sperm DNA, histone residue percentage, and sperm protamine deficiency were examined by SCD, aniline blue staining, and chromamycin A3 evaluation, respectively. FSH was assessed through blood samples from patients. Pearson correlation was used for correlation between the parameters. The significance level was considered P<0.05.

In this study, there was a significant correlation between DNA fragmentation and FSH level. Also, chromatin deficiency disorders and DNA fragmentation showed a significant correlation. In addition, there was a significant correlation between excess histone and DNA fragmentation.

In oligospermia, DNA fragmentation is associated with sperm chromatin abnormalities and damage to their sperm DNA, and is a possible cause of infertility.