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PMID: 35118392 Published · epublish English Journal Article

Sperm morphology and DNA fragmentation after zona pellucida selection.

Reproduction & fertility ·Vol. 2 ·No. 3 ·2021-00-00 ·Pages 221-230

Ganeva R, Parvanov D, Velikova D, Vasileva M, Nikolova K, Stamenov G

Abstract

Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) and sperm morphological defects can negatively affect ART outcomes. Consequently, there is a need for additional semen processing technique that accounts for sperm DNA status and morphology prior to ICSI. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of an additional zona pellucida adhesion-based sperm selection for obtaining sperm populations with a high percentage of normal morphology and DNA integrity as compared to native semen and routine swim-up preparation. Semen samples from 78 normozoospermic men were subjected to swim up and placed in petri dishes coated with 48 acid-solubilized zonae pellucidae. Sperm DNA fragmentation and morphology were assessed in the native semen, the swim-up samples, and the zona-adhered spermatozoa from each patient. The mean sperm DNA fragmentation of the zona-selected spermatozoa (3.5 ± 0.7%) was significantly lower than the swim-up samples (15.3 ± 5.2%) (P  < 0.001) and native semen (24.9 ± 7.1%) (P  < 0.001). All of the samples had lower levels of DNA damage after additional selection by zona pellucida adhesion. Significantly higher percentage of sperm with normal morphology was observed after zona-adhesion selection (11.4 ± 3.9%) when compared to the swim-up samples (8.9 ± 4.3%) (P  < 0.001) or the native semen (5.3 ± 3.2%) (P  < 0.001). In 94% of the samples, the percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology increased after the additional zona selection. This study demonstrates that sperm selection by additional zona-adhesion technique yields a significantly higher percentage of spermatozoa with normal morphology as well as a significantly decreased level of DNA fragmentation when compared to the native semen and the swim-up-only prepared samples. High level of DNA folding known as sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) inside each sperm and defects in the shape, size, and structure of the sperm can negatively affect assisted reproduction treatment (ART) outcomes. Consequently, there is a need for additional semen processing techniques that account for sperm quality prior to ART. Our team designed a simple technique using proteins from the coat around the egg (zona pellucida) to enhance sperm selection procedures based on natural sperm-egg interactions. Using this technique in combination with the most common techniques used in ART yields a significantly higher percentage of sperm with normal shape, size, and structure and a decreased level of DNA fragmentation. This sperm zona-selection technique would be beneficial if introduced in the ART practice to yield sperm with higher fertilization potential.

Keywords
sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) sperm morphology sperm selection zona adhesion zona pellucida
MeSH Terms
DNA Fragmentation Humans Male Semen Sperm-Ovum Interactions Spermatozoa Zona Pellucida
Authors & Affiliations
6 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Ganeva Rumiana ORCID
Research Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Parvanov Dimitar
Research Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Velikova Denitsa
Andrology Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Vasileva Magdalena
Embryology Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Nikolova Kristina
Embryology Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Stamenov Georgi
Obsterics and Gynecology Department, Nadezhda Women's Health Hospital, Sofia, Bulgaria.
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Article Info
Journal
Reproduction & fertility
Abbr.
Reprod Fertil
ISSN
2633-8386
DOI
10.1530/RAF-21-0041
Published
2021-00-00
Epub
2021-00-12
Pages
221-230
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
101778727
PMCID
PMC8801029
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1530/RAF-21-0041 PMC Full Text View journal details
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