title: Vacuoles in sperm head are not associated with head morphology, DNA damage and reproductive success.
abstract: In this retrospective study of 873 men enrolled for assisted reproduction techniques, relationships between sperm quality parameters, motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME), DNA damage and live birth rate were evaluated. The presence of vacuoles in the sperm heads was detected by MSOME. Either chromatin decondensation or DNA fragmentation was used to study DNA damage. Results show that age significantly affected some of the examined parameters. In particular, sperm concentration was positively correlated (R = 0.088; P = 0.01) and chromatin decondensation was negatively correlated (R = -0.102; P = 0.003) with age. Furthermore, live birth rate was significantly lower in men aged 40 years or older (P < 0.02) compared with the younger age groups. The presence of sperm head vacuoles was not associated with head morphology, main sperm quality parameters, DNA fragmentation and live birth rate. Considering sperm heads in relation to the shape (normal/abnormal) and vacuoles (presence/absence), no significant variations in the occurrence of vacuoles in either normal or abnormal heads were found. These data suggest that vacuoles are physiological features that do not alter sperm functionality, and it seems that MSOME is not necessary for increasing the success of assisted reproduction techniques.
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fortunato
authors.affiliation: Department of Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boni
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Leo
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nacchia
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liguori
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casale
authors.affiliation: IDF Center, Piazza Municipio, 4, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonassisa
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy. Electronic address: tosti@szn.it.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tosti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001723:Birth Rate; D002843:Chromatin / Q000737:chemistry; D004249:DNA Damage; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015388:Organelles / Q000737:chemistry; D012098:Reproduction; D027724:Reproductive Techniques, Assisted; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012661:Semen; D055101:Semen Analysis / Q000379:methods; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000502:physiology*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*; D014617:Vacuoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002843:Chromatin
keywords: DNA fragmentation; IMSI; chromatin condensation; human spermatozoa; live birth rate; vacuoles