Embryo quality and IVF treatment outcomes may correlate with different sperm comet assay parameters.

BACKGROUND

Standard semen parameters have proven poor at predicting the outcomes of IVF treatment cycles. As recent studies suggest that the male genome may play an important role in early embryogenesis, this study attempts to correlate the level of sperm DNA damage in fresh semen and prepared sperm with the outcomes of conventional IVF treatment cycles.

METHODS

Forty patients embarking on IVF treatment were recruited into this prospective observational study. Both fresh semen and PureSperm-prepared sperm were processed using a modified comet assay 3-6 months prior to the patients' IVF treatment cycles. Comet head DNA (mean and integrated head density) and tail DNA parameters (length and moment) were measured separately.

RESULTS

Significant correlations between total sperm concentration and between comet length, moment, mean head density with embryo quality were detected in fresh semen and prepared sperm. Surprisingly, no significant correlations between head and tail parameters were detected.

CONCLUSIONS

Comet head and tail DNA parameters appear to be potentially useful as predictors of embryo quality and IVF outcomes, especially in couples with unexplained subfertility. The lack of correlation between head and tail parameters may be due to a different mechanism of DNA damage within these two compartments.