The dark staining of human sperm heads by Diff Quik is significantly correlated with abnormal sperm head morphology (r=0.51, p<0.0001), but is not associated with changes in sperm chromatin detected by a sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA; r=0.18, p>0.09). Whilst valuable in the assessment of head morphology, it is concluded that Diff Quik staining is not a useful substitute for the SCSA to ...

The technique (sperm chromatin structure assay) used in this study identifies one reason (a decrease in chromatin quality) for stallions whose semen shows reduced fertility when chilled. This assay is a diagnostic test, in addition to the use of sperm motility and morphologic evaluation, to evaluate the quality of chilled stallion semen and further aid the practitioner and the breeding industry...

BACKGROUND The intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique selects sperm according to morphology and motility. However, these parameters cannot predict the chromatin integrity of sperm. Considering the detrimental effects of DNA-damaged sperm on reproductive outcomes, novel sperm selection procedures have been proposed to circumvent the possibility of inseminating DNA-damaged sperm. It h...

sperm is produced by the testis and mature in the epididymis. for having a successful conception, the fertilizing sperm should have functional competent membranes, intact acrosome, functional mitochondria and an intact haploid genome. the effects of genetic and environmental factors result in sperm vulnerability to damage in the process of spermatogenesis and maturation. in recent years, the fe...

There is evidence to show that varicocele repair can improve conventional sperm parameters but the effects on sperm chromatin integrity have not been fully elucidated. We sought to examine the effects of varicocelectomy on sperm maturation, nuclear chromatin integrity and nuclear sulfhydryl groups. We conducted a prospective study of consecutive infertile men (n=29) that underwent a microsurgic...

Removal of seminal plasma facilitates stallion sperm survival during storage, but washing may damage chromatin. Therefore, quality was compared in samples following single-layer centrifugation (SLC) or and controls (extension only) two extenders, INRA82 INRA96. Ejaculates from six stallions were split among treatments: SLC, washing, controls, Sperm motility acrosome status evaluated at 0, 24, 4...

BACKGROUND Ketamine, an injectable anesthetic in human and animal medicine, is also a recreational drug used by young adults. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of ketamine on membrane integrity, DNA fragmentation and sperm parameters in humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS This prospective study was conducted on 40 males with normal semen samples over one month (August 2012). Subjects...

In human fertilization, the sperm centrosome nucleates a radial array of microtubules called the sperm aster. The sperm aster is responsible for apposition of male and female pronuclei, and later gives rise to the first meiotic spindle. The objective of this study was to determine microtubule assembly and chromatin configuration in rabbit oocytes following intracytoplasmic injection with human ...

Background: Infertility is a complex medical problem. About 15% of couples are infertile, and male infertility being involved in roughly 50% of the cases. Among these, many cases are associated with a severe impairment of spermatogenesis. During the last stage of spermatogenesis (spermiogenesis), sperm chromatin endures complex modifications in which histones are lost and depositioned with tran...

BACKGROUND di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used in the plastic industry and can induce reproductive toxicity. On the other hand, L-carnitine (LC) plays a crucial role in sperm metabolism and maturation. This study evaluates the effect of LC on body and testis weight, testis tissue, count, motility, viability, morphology, and chromatin quality of epididymal sperm, testicular spermat...