Male infertility and spermatic DNA fragmentation: A current problem

Abstract

Spermatic DNA contributes one half of the genetic material to offspring. Currently, the parameters obtained through a seminogram do not provide complete information on the potential fertilization of the semen and the ability to produce a healthy embryo and an on-going pregnancy. This is the reason why the interest in developing techniques to assess sperm DNA fragmentation has been increased, as damage during spermatogenesis can occur at any stage of the process, this being a multifactorial phenomenon and not entirely delimited yet. Nowadays the infertility is an increasing global problem, and it has been shown that the quality of the DNA in the sperm can affect fertilization; this is why the evaluation of sperm DNA integrity, in addition to the study of the sperm parameters may provide additional information on the quality of the spermatozoa, resulting in great help to identify the causes of male infertility and thus can be used to better guide couples with infertility issues.