Apoptosis rate in human spermatozoa: a sperm quality assay.

Abstract

Several studies have demonstrated the relationship between gonadotrophine serum levels and the apoptosis rate in germinal cells (Bosco et al 2005). In human, lower FSH serum levels are associated with reduced Sperm Standard Parameters in term of concentration, motility and morphology and higher sperm DNA fragmentation. Hypogonadotrope hypogonadism is a clinical condition associated with male infertility, characterized by low serum levels of gonadotrophins. In this pilot study we investigated the spermatozoa quality of 11 patients with development of hypogonadotrope hypogonadism urdergoing in vitro fertilization programs. Recombinant-FSH administered to improve the sperm parameters, apoptosis rate, aiming to increase the success of in vitro fertilization techniques. We found an effective procedure to highlight the correlation between spermatozoa morphology and DNA fragmentation, by TUNEL assay in situ. Spermatozoa integrity DNA influences reproductive potentiality and increases IVF outcome.