The Utility of Sperm DNA Fragmentation as a Diagnostic Tool for Male Infertility and Its Predictive Value for Assisted Reproductive Technology Outcomes
Zurera Egea, Coral (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Mateo, Sílvia (Hospital Universitari Dexeus. Departament d'Obstetrícia, Ginecologia i Medicina Reproductiva)
Novo, Sergi (Fertilab)
Asensio, Marta (Reproclinic)
Boada i Palà, Montserrat (Hospital Universitari Dexeus. Departament d'Obstetrícia, Ginecologia i Medicina Reproductiva)
Antich, Marta (Fertilab)
Rovira, Sergi (Fertilab)
Sarrate Navas, Zaida (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Blanco, Joan (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)
Anton, Ester (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, de Fisiologia i d'Immunologia)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Standard semen parameters remain the cornerstone of male infertility evaluation, though they often poorly reflect the likelihood of success in assisted reproductive technology (ART). This study evaluates sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) as a diagnostic tool for male infertility and predictive biomarker for ART success. Semen samples were collected from 20 fertile donors and 40 infertile patients with abnormal semen parameters. A fraction of each sample was used for SDF assessment via TUNEL assay and flow cytometry, while the remaining portion was processed for conventional semen analysis and ART. Infertile patients exhibited higher SDF levels (32. 77 ± 13. 61%) compared to donors (22. 19 ± 8. 37%; p < 0. 01), a difference that remained statistically significant across all subgroups stratified by semen parameters. Additionally, significant correlations were obtained between the percentage of SDF and sperm count (r = -0. 4036), motility (r = -0. 6377), and morphology (r = -0. 2783). Regarding ART outcomes, patients with low-quality embryos exhibited higher SDF levels compared to those with high-quality embryos (30. 02 ± 12. 52% vs. 23. 16 ± 8. 41%; p = 0. 0036). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed an area under the curve (AUC) above 0. 7 for the classification of male infertility as well as the assessment of embryo quality. Overall, our results support the utility of SDF as both a diagnostic biomarker for male infertility and a predictive indicator of embryo quality in ART, particularly in the presence of an oocyte-related female factor.
Grants:	Instituto de Salud Carlos III PI21/00564 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00122
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	SDF ; Infertility ; Seminal alterations ; Fertilization ; Blastocyst formation ; Embryoquality ; Implantation
Published in:	International journal of molecular sciences, Vol. 26, Issue 13 (July 2025) , art. 6314, ISSN 1422-0067

DOI: 10.3390/ijms26136314
PMID: 40650094

20 p, 2.1 MB

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