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Human semen cryopreservation: a sperm DNA fragmentation study with alkaline and neutral Comet assay
Author(s) -
RibasMaynou J.,
FernándezEncinas A.,
GarcíaPeiró A.,
Prada E.,
Abad C.,
Amengual M. J.,
Navarro J.,
Benet J.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
andrology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.947
H-Index - 43
eISSN - 2047-2927
pISSN - 2047-2919
DOI - 10.1111/j.2047-2927.2013.00158.x
Subject(s) - comet assay , dna fragmentation , andrology , sperm , cryopreservation , semen , dna damage , fertility , infertility , biology , male infertility , live birth , genetics , pregnancy , population , medicine , dna , embryo , programmed cell death , apoptosis , environmental health
Summary Sperm cryopreservation is widely used for both research and reproduction purposes, but its effect on sperm DNA damage remains controversial. Sperm DNA fragmentation ( SDF ) has become an important biomarker to assess male infertility. In particular, the differentiation between single‐ and double‐stranded DNA fragmentation (ss SDF and ds SDF ) has clinical implications for male infertility where ss SDF is associated with reduced fertility, whereas ds SDF is associated with increased risk of miscarriage. In this study, semen samples from 30 human males have been analysed in both fresh and cryopreserved using the alkaline and neutral Comet assays. Results show an increase of about 10% of ss SDF , assessed by the alkaline Comet assay, regardless of the male fertility status. Neutral Comet analysis of ds SDF does not show any statistical increase when comparing fresh and cryopreserved samples in any of the patient groups. Results support previous reports that oxidative stress is the major effector in DNA damage during sample cryopreservation, as, on one hand, ss SDF has previously been related to oxidative damage and, on the other hand, we have not found any effect on ds SDF . Therefore, there might be a slight risk of decreased fertility after using a freezed sample, but no evidence for increased miscarriage risk from cryopreserved spermatozoa should be expected.