Impact of single and multiple sperm abnormalities and low-level leukocytospermia on sperm DNA

Background and objective The aim of the present study was to identify the impact of defective standard sperm parameters individually and in combination on DNA damage in a large cohort of infertile men. Material and methods Retrospective analysis of semen characteristics was conducted on 436 patients. DNA fragmentation analysis was performed by using the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated fluorescein-dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Sperm parameters were arranged into different categories such as normospermia asthenospermic, teratospermic, asthenoteratospermic, and oligoasthenoteratospermic. GraphPad Prism version 7 software was used for data analysis. Results Our results suggest that the mean percentage of DNA damage was proportionally higher than the semen abnormalities. Sperm with 3 abnormal parameters showed significantly higher DNA damage, suggesting that sperm having more than 2 abnormalities are more likely to have higher DNA damage. Conclusion Sperm motility had significant correlation and is supposed to be a predictor for these tests, while morphology was the second standard sperm parameter inversely correlated with sperm DNA damage. Patients demonstrating low levels of leukocytospermia should be advised sperm DNA testing before assisted reproductive technology treatment. However, there is a clear need for more research studies to further address these issues.