title: Pregnancy prediction by free sperm DNA and sperm DNA fragmentation in semen specimens of IVF/ICSI-ET patients.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of free sperm plasma DNA (f-spDNA) and sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF), in semen specimens from men undergoing in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer (IVF/ICSI-ET) treatments. Fifty-five semen samples were evaluated during 55 consecutive IVF/ICSI-ET cycles. F-spDNA was determined by conventional quantitative real-time PCR-Sybr green detection approach, while evaluation of sperm DNA damage was performed using the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) assay. While f-spDNA only correlated with total sperm count, SDF correlated with many semen parameters (including sperm concentration, total sperm count and the per cent of non-progressive sperm). Neither SDF nor the proportion of sperm with small or no halos correlated with f-spDNA. Interestingly, smoking status correlated with f-spDNA but not with SDF. Although these two factors seem to interact for the prediction of pregnancy, receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) analysis revealed that SDF had a stronger predictive value (AUC = 0.7, p < 0.05) than f-spDNA (AUC = 0.6, p > 0.05). SDF and f-spDNA may not be associated together but they interact at a significant level in order to exert their actions on pregnancy outcome. Among the two markers, SDF appears to have stronger and significantly predictive value for pregnancy success.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Theofania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bounartzi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dafopoulos
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anifandis
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Christina I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Messini
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Chrysoula
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koutsonikou
authors.affiliation: b Department of Molecular Biology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece.
authors.forename: Spyros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kouris
authors.affiliation: b Department of Molecular Biology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Satra
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Sotirios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sotiriou
authors.affiliation: b Department of Molecular Biology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vamvakopoulos
authors.affiliation: a Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Larisa , University of Thessalia , Larisa , Greece ;
authors.forename: Ioannis E
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Messinis
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D010064:Embryo Implantation; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006115:Greece; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011379:Prognosis; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012661:Semen / Q000378:metabolism; D013076:Sperm Count; D020554:Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D004247:DNA
keywords: Free sperm plasma DNA; IVF outcome; embryo quality; semen parameters; sperm DNA fragmentation