Sperm DNA fragmentation decreases the pregnancy rate in an assisted reproductive technique

TLDR

Sperm genome quality, rather than standard sperm characteristics, is increasingly recognized as a key determinant of IVF success. The study measured sperm DNA fragmentation by TUNEL assay in 104 couples undergoing IVF or ICSI and correlated the results with semen and ART outcomes. Higher sperm DNA fragmentation (>10%) was associated with lower fertilization rates and poorer pregnancy outcomes after ICSI, while embryo morphology remained unaffected and fragmentation did not predict IVF success.

Abstract

Standard sperm characteristics are poor predictors of the outcome of IVF treatments. On the contrary, sperm genome quality has been emphasized for several years as playing a major role in early embryogenesis, thus in the success of IVF attempt. Sperm DNA fragmentation from a selected group of 104 couples undergoing assisted reproductive techniques (ART) (IVF: n = 50; and ICSI: n = 54) was measured by TUNEL assay and correlated with semen and ART outcomes. A negative correlation was found between sperm characteristics and the proportion of sperm showing DNA fragmentation. For fragmentation >10%, a significant decrease of the fertilization rate was observed. No correlation was found between sperm DNA fragmentation and embryo quality. A high proportion of sperm with fragmented DNA was a pejorative factor to obtain pregnancies when ICSI was performed, but there was no relationship when conventional IVF was performed. The proportion of sperm with DNA fragmentation appears to be potentially useful as a predictor of ICSI outcome, whereas embryo quality based on morphological criteria, appeared unaffected by DNA fragmentation.