The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) was applied to human sperm, and factors affecting its routine operation investigated. The findings indicated that(a) non-sperm cells in semen can contribute to the results of the SCSA, (b) snap freezing in liquid nitrogen does not affect the result of the SCSA and is a good way of storing semen prior to testing, (c) there is good reproducibility when s...

Morphological analysis of semen is a very important step in fertility assessment, but many semen defects are not detectable at the morphological level. These include pathological changes in sperm chromatin structure. During mammalian spermiogenesis, histone proteins associated with DNA structure are replaced by specific protamines, with which chromatin does not form nucleosomal complexes. In th...

The mammalian spermatozoon has a unique chromatin structure where the majority of DNA is packaged by protamines, while a small fraction (∼8%) remains associated with nucleosomes. However, the chromatin affinity and repertoire of the additional proteins constituting the different sperm chromatin fractions have not yet been explored. To address this we have carried out a genomic and proteomic cha...

background: the aim of present study is to evaluate the effect of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (pvp) routinly used during icsi procedure on sperm membrane integrity, and sperm chromatin status. materials and methods: this study was carried out on 21 semen samples from the infertile men referring to isfahan fertility and infertility center. the processed semen samples were divided into two portions. on...

BACKGROUND While (partial) recovery of spermatogenesis, observed by means of standard semen analysis, has been seen in testicular cancer patients after chemotherapy with cisplatin, sperm genomic integrity and its implication for the patient's fertility are poorly understood. METHODS Semen and serum from 22 patients treated for testicular cancer were analysed pre- and post-chemotherapy. Beside...

BACKGROUND This study examined potential associations between exposure to episodes of air pollution and alterations in semen quality. The air pollution, resulting from combustion of coal for industry and home heating in the Teplice district of the Czech Republic, was much higher during the winter than at other times of year with peaks exceeding US air quality standards. METHODS Young men from...