Sperm chromatin integrity has been being recognized as an important factor in male fertility. During normal fertilization, high quality sperm with intact chromatin are selected through natural selection in journey from vagina to fallopian tube. However, using Assisted Reproductive Techniques, particularly ICSI, the natural selection is bypassed. Therefore sperm with DNA breakage have the opport...

background: it is estimated that about 50% of causes of recurrent pregnancy loss (rpl) cases remain unknown. sperm factors are suggested to have probable role in cases with rpl. objective: the goal was to determine the possible relationship between semen bacterial contaminations with unexplained rpl. also, the correlation between number of bacterial colony and sperm chromatin condensation was e...

This study was conducted to determine chromatin integrity and DNA damage by DNA electrophoresis and comet assays of buffalo fresh and frozen semen. Semen samples were collected from four buffalo bulls and evaluated after freezing for semen motility, viability, sperm abnormalities, chromatin integrity and DNA damage. A significant variation was found in semen parameters after thawing. Highly sig...

Zona-free oocytes of the mouse were inseminated at prometaphase I or metaphase I of meiotic maturation in vitro, and the behavior of the sperm nuclei within the oocyte cytoplasm was examined. If the oocytes were penetrated by up to three sperm, maturation continued during subsequent incubation and became arrested at metaphase II. Meanwhile, each sperm nucleus underwent the following changes. Fi...

background: exposures to lead above the threshold value of 50–60 μg/dl have been linked to diminished semen quality parameters. worldwide, the lead exposure has been diminished during the last years. therefore, it has become of a great concern to examine the effects of lead exposures on semen quality at low levels of exposure. objective: to evaluate the effect of low level (<20 μg/dl) blood lea...

Background: Although sperm selection according to morphologic and motility characteristic, made to some what the fertility successful, but sperm’s normal morphology cannot demonstrate sperm DNA competence. Since the health of sperm DNA is affecting the results of assisted reproductive technology; the aim of this study is to evaluate semen parameters measured by CASA with sperm chromatin abnorma...

background: the availability of testis specific genes will be of help in choosing the most promising biomarkers for the detection of testicular sperm retrieval in patients with non-obstructive azoospermia (noa). testis specific chromodomain protein y 1 (cdy1) is a histone acetyltransferase which concentrates in the round spermatid nucleus, where histone hyperacetylation occurs and causes the re...

During spermatogenesis, sperm chromatin undergoes structural changes and results in a high condensation. This nuclear compaction would be useful as a predictor of sperm fertilization capacity and pregnancy outcome. We purpose to evaluate firstly the relationship among chromatin maturity assessed by aniline blue staining (AB) and the semen parameters in infertile men. Secondly, we analyzed wheth...

Oxidative stress is detrimental to sperm function and a significant factor in the etiology of male infertility. This report examines the association between dietary and supplementary intake of the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene and sperm chromatin integrity. Eighty-seven healthy male volunteers donated semen samples, completed food-frequency questionnaires, and provided in...

The quality of sperm ejaculated by bonnet monkeys and normal, healthy proven fertile volunteer men, both actively immunized with ovine follicle-stimulating hormone (oFSH), was examined at different times of study for chromatin packaging and acrosomal glycoprotein concentration by flow cytometry. Susceptibility of sperm nuclear DNA to dithiothreitol (DTT)-induced decondensation, as measured by e...