Fertility and Sterility
Volume 93, Issue 4 , Pages 1142-1146 , 1 March 2010

Testicular spermatozoa have statistically significantly lower DNA damage compared with ejaculated spermatozoa in patients with unsuccessful oral antioxidant treatment

Presented in part at the Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association, Anaheim, California, May 19–24, 2007.

  • Sergey I. Moskovtsev, M.D., Ph.D.

      Affiliations

    • Andrology Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: S.I. Moskovtsev, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, 600 University Avenue, Room 6-303, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1X5 Canada (FAX: 416-586-8589).
    • ,
  • Keith Jarvi, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • J. Brendan M. Mullen, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Andrology Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Kenneth I. Cadesky, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • LifeQuest Centre for Reproductive Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Thomas Hannam, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Hannam Fertility Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    • ,
  • Kirk C. Lo, M.D.

      Affiliations

    • Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Received 26 August 2008 ,Revised 9 October 2008 ,Accepted 2 November 2008.

References 

  1. Evenson DP, Jost LK, Marshall D, Zinaman MJ, Clegg E, Purvis K, et al. Utility of the sperm chromatin structure assay as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in the human fertility clinic. Hum Reprod. 1999;14:1039–1049
  2. Kodama H, Yamaguchi R, Fukuda J, Kasai H, Tanaka T. Increased oxidative deoxyribonucleic acid damage in the spermatozoa of infertile male patients. Fertil Steril. 1997;68:519–524
  3. Zini A, Bielecki R, Phang D, Zenzes MT. Correlations between two markers of sperm DNA integrity, DNA denaturation and DNA fragmentation, in fertile and infertile men. Fertil Steril. 2001;75:674–677
  4. Evenson DP, Larson KL, Jost LK. Sperm chromatin structure assay: its clinical use for detecting sperm DNA fragmentation in male infertility and comparisons with other techniques. J Androl. 2002;23:25–43
  5. Larson-Cook KL, Brannian JD, Hansen KA, Kasperson KM, Aamold ET, Evenson DP. Relationship between the outcomes of assisted reproductive techniques and sperm DNA fragmentation as measured by the sperm chromatin structure assay. Fertil Steril. 2003;80:895–902
  6. Spano M, Bonde JP, Hjollund HI, Kolstad HA, Cordelli E, Leter G. Sperm chromatin damage impairs human fertility. The Danish First Pregnancy Planner Study Team. Fertil Steril. 2000;73:43–50
  7. Duran EH, Morshedi M, Taylor S, Oehninger S. Sperm DNA quality predicts intrauterine insemination outcome—a prospective cohort study. Hum Reprod. 2002;17:3122–3128
  8. Benchaib M, Lornage J, Mazoyer C, Lejeune H, Salle B, Francois Guerin J. Sperm deoxyribonucleic acid fragmentation as a prognostic indicator of assisted reproductive technology outcome. Fertil Steril. 2007;87:93–100
  9. Bungum M, Humaidan P, Axmon A, Spano M, Bungum L, Erenpreiss J, et al. Sperm DNA integrity assessment in prediction of assisted reproduction technology outcome. Hum Reprod. 2007;22:174–179
  10. Morris ID, Ilott S, Dixon L, Brison DR. The spectrum of DNA damage in human sperm assessed by single cell electrophoresis (COMET assay) and its relationship to fertilization and embryo development. Hum Reprod. 2002;17:990–998
  11. Tesarik J, Greco E, Mendoza C. Late, but not early, paternal effect on human embryo development is related to sperm DNA fragmentation. Hum Reprod. 2004;19:611–615
  12. Carrell DT, Liu L, Peterson CM, Jones KP, Hatasaka HH, Erickson L, et al. Sperm DNA fragmentation is increased in couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy loss. Arch Androl. 2003;49:49–55
  13. Agarwal A, Said TM. Role of sperm chromatin abnormalities and DNA damage in male infertility. Hum Reprod Update. 2003;9:331–345
  14. Moskovtsev SI. Management of patients with high sperm DNA damage. Indian J Med Res. 2008;127:101–103
  15. Ebisch IM, Thomas CM, Peters WH, Braat DD, Steegers-Theunissen RP. The importance of folate, zinc and antioxidants in the pathogenesis and prevention of subfertility. Hum Reprod Update. 2007;13:163–174
  16. Agarwal A, Nallella KP, Allamaneni SS, Said TM. Role of antioxidants in treatment of male infertility: an overview of the literature. Reprod Biomed Online. 2004;8:616–627
  17. Greco E, Iacobelli M, Rienzi L, Ubaldi F, Ferrero S, Tesarik J. Reduction of the incidence of sperm DNA fragmentation by oral antioxidant treatment. J Androl. 2005;26:349–353
  18. Menezo YJ, Hazout A, Panteix G, Robert F, Rollet J, Cohen-Bacrie P, et al. Antioxidants to reduce sperm DNA fragmentation: an unexpected adverse effect. Reprod Biomed Online. 2007;14:418–421
  19. Silver EW, Eskenazi B, Evenson DP, Block G, Young S, Wyrobek AJ. Effect of antioxidant intake on sperm chromatin stability in healthy non-smoking men. J Androl. 2005;26:550–556
  20. Greco E, Scarselli F, Iacobelli M, Rienzi L, Ubaldi F, Ferrero S, et al. Efficient treatment of infertility due to sperm DNA damage by ICSI with testicular spermatozoa. Hum Reprod. 2005;20:226–230
  21. Nicopoullos JD, Ramsay JW, Almeida PA, Gilling-Smith C. Assisted reproduction in the azoospermic couple. BJOG. 2004;111:1190–1203
  22. World Health Organization . Laboratory manual for the examination of human semen and sperm-cervical mucus interaction. 3rd ed.. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1993;
  23. Moskovtsev SI, Willis J, Azad A, Mullen JBM. Sperm DNA integrity: correlation with sperm plasma membrane integrity in semen evaluated for male infertility. Arch Androl. 2005;51:33–40
  24. Benchaib M, Braun V, Lornage J, Hadj S, Salle B, Lejeune H, et al. Sperm DNA fragmentation decreases the pregnancy rate in an assisted reproductive technique. Hum Reprod. 2003;18:1023–1028
  25. Schlegel PN. Testicular sperm extraction: microdissection improves sperm yield with minimal tissue excision. Hum Reprod. 1999;4:131–135
  26. Moskovtsev SI, White J, Mullen JBM. Sperm DNA integrity evaluation using ThinPrep® cytologic preparation. Fertil Steril. 2006;86:S504–S505
  27. Bonduelle M, Aytoz A, Van Assche E, Devroey P, Liebaers I, Van Steirteghem A. Incidence of chromosomal aberrations in children born after assisted reproduction through intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Hum Reprod. 1998;13:781–782
  28. Aitken RJ, Gordon E, Harkiss D, Twigg JP, Milne P, Jennings Z, et al. Relative impact of oxidative stress on the functional competence and genomic integrity of human spermatozoa. Biol Reprod. 1998;59:1037–1046
  29. Tesarik J, Ubaldi F, Rienzi L, Martinez F, Iacobelli M, Mendoza C, et al. Caspase-dependent and -independent DNA fragmentation in Sertoli and germ cells from men with primary testicular failure: relationship with histological diagnosis. Hum Reprod. 2004;19:254–261
  30. Zini A, Kamal K, Phang D, Willis J, Jarvi K. Biologic variability of sperm DNA denaturation in infertile men. Urology. 2001;58:258–261
  31. Smit M, Dohle GR, Hop WC, Wildhagen MF, Weber RF, Romijn JC. Clinical correlates of the biological variation of sperm DNA fragmentation in infertile men attending an andrology outpatient clinic. Int J Androl. 2007;30:48–55
  32. O'Connell M, McClure N, Lewis SE. A comparison of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA status in testicular sperm from fertile men and those with obstructive azoospermia. Hum Reprod. 2002;17:1571–1577
  33. Steele EK, McClure N, Maxwell RJ, Lewis SE. A comparison of DNA damage in testicular and proximal epididymal spermatozoa in obstructive azoospermia. Mol Hum Reprod. 1999;5:831–835
  34. Moskovtsev SI, Willis J, Mullen JBM. Age-related decline in sperm deoxyribonucleic acid integrity in patients evaluated for male infertility. Fertil Steril. 2006;85:496–499
  35. Singh NP, Muller CH, Berger RE. Effects of age on DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis in human sperm. Fertil Steril. 2003;80:1420–1430
  36. Sinha Hikim AP, Swerdloff RS. Hormonal and genetic control of germ cell apoptosis in the testis. Rev Reprod. 1999;4:38–47

 S.I.M. has nothing to disclose. K.J. is a paid consultant for Bayer. J.B.M.M. has nothing to disclose. K.I.C. has nothing to disclose. T.H. has nothing to disclose. K.C.L. is an employee of Bayer Canada.

PII: S0015-0282(08)04551-2

doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.11.005

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 93, Issue 4 , Pages 1142-1146 , 1 March 2010

Article Tools