DNA damage in spermatozoa from infertile men with varicocele evaluated by sperm chromatin dispersion and DBD-FISH

Purpose Evaluation of DNA integrity is an important test, possessing greater diagnostic and prognostic significance for couples requiring assisted reproduction. In this study, we evaluate the levels of DNA damage in infertile patients with varicocele with respect to fertile males by the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test. The presence of DNA breaks in spermatozoa was confirmed by DNA breakage detection-fluorescence in situ hybridization (DBD-FISH). Methods In this study, the frequency of sperm cells with fragmented DNA was studied in a group of 20 infertile patients with varicocele and compared with 20 fertile males. The spermatozoa were processed to classify different levels of DNA fragmentation using the Halosperm ® kit, an improved SCD test, and DBD-FISH. Results Patients with varicocele showed 25.54 ± 28.17 % of spermatozoa with fragmented DNA, significantly higher than those of the group of fertile subjects (11.54 ± 3.88 %). The proportion of degraded cells in total sperm cells with fragmented DNA was sixfold higher in the case of patients with varicocele. The presence of DNA breaks in spermatozoa was confirmed by DBD-FISH. 5-bp Classical satellite-2 regions showed greater sensitivity to damage or “breakage” than alphoid satellite regions. Conclusions Our finding preliminary demonstrated an increase of DNA fragmentation associated to severe sperm damage, in infertile patients with varicocele with respect to fertile males. 5-bp Classical satellite-2 regions showed greater sensitivity to damage or “breakage” than alphoid satellite regions.