Numerical chromosome abnormalities are associated with sperm tail swelling patterns.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether the differential sperm tail swelling patterns observed following hypo-osmotic shock are useful in discriminating normal sperm from aneuploid sperm.


METHODS
Prospective study.


METHODS
University research setting.


METHODS
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was combined with hypo-osmotic swelling for a simultaneous assessment of aneuploidy and viability in human spermatozoa.


METHODS
FISH for chromosomes 1, 13, 18, 21, X, and Y after hypo-osmotic stress was used to investigate the distribution of sperm aneuploidy related to sperm-tail swelling patterns. A total of 16,473 sperm cells were scored from three normal fertile donors and six oligoasthenoteratozoospermic (OAT) patients.


RESULTS
There was a 17.2-fold decrease in the frequency of total aneuploidy in the sperm with a tail-tip swelling pattern compared with the initial nonselected sperm in the OAT patients. Strikingly, when the sperm with tail-tip swelling patterns were screened from the patients, the frequency of total aneuploidy was actually lower by a factor of four than in the nonselected sperm from fertile donors.


CONCLUSIONS
The sperm cells with tail-tip swelling patterns are related to a low frequency of aneuploidy.
Pang
Myung-Geol
MG
Department of Animal Science and Technology and BET Research Institute, Chung-Ang University, Ansung, Gyeonggi-Do, South Korea. mgpang@cau.ac.kr
You
Young-Ah
YA
Park
Yoo-Jin
YJ
Oh
Shin-Ae
SA
Kim
Dai-Sik
DS
Kim
Young-Ju
YJ
D000327:Adsorption; D000782:Aneuploidy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000502:physiology; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D002878:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1; D002882:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 13; D002891:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D013082:Sperm Tail / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism
D014867:Water