INCREASED SPERM DNA FRAGMENTATION NEGATIVELY AFFECTS EMBRYO QUALITY IN A COHORT OF EGYPTIAN PATIENTS

Sperms of infertile men mostly contain more DNA damage than fertile males. Sperm DNA damage might have a negative effect on the fertility potential of such patients. This study measuredthe percentage of spermatozoa with nuclear DNA fragmentation in semen samples used for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), before and after sperm processing and investigated the association between sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and ICSI outcomes (embryo quality and clinical pregnancy rate).Sperm DFI was measured, by TUNEL, in fresh semen samples obtained from thirty male partners of infertile couples, prepared for ICSI.The mean sperm DFI before and after processing was 4.5% and 8.83% respectively. Sperm DFI increased significantly after processing (P< 0.001) regardless of the type of processing used (Z= 0.155, p= 0.877). The correlation between sperm DFI, before and after semen processing, and clinical pregnancy was statistically insignificant (Z = 0.4, p = 0.689 and Z= 0.48, p = 0.631 respectively). DFI of sperm after semen processing showed a significant negative correlation with embryo grading at day 3 (r = - 0.232, p = 0.002). In conclusion, sperm DFI increases significantly after processing and correlates negatively with embryo quality.