ObjectiveTo investigate the association of sperm DNA integrity with semen routine parameters and seminal plasma oxidative stress and its influence on in vitro fertilization (IVF) in males with infertility.

METHODSUsing sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD), we detected sperm DNA damage in 433 infertile men undergoing IVF. Based on the sperm DNA fragmentation index (DFI), we divided the patients into a low DFI (lt;30%) and a high DFI ( ≥30%) group and then compared sperm concentration, the percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS), the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in the seminal plasma, and the rates of fertilization, cleavage and high-quality embryos between the two groups of patients.

RESULTSCompared with the low DFI group, the high DFI group showed significantly decreased rates of PMS (［48.6±16.7］ vs ［29.2±16.8］%, P<0.01) and fast PMS ［19.0±9.1］ vs ［9.4±6.6］%, P<0.01), but no statistically significant difference in sperm concentration (［51.4±30.9］ vs ［52.3±32.4］ ×106/ml, P>0.05). The content of MDA in the seminal plasma was markedly higher in the high DFI than in the low DFI group (［2.28±0.26］ vs ［0.95±0.18］ nmol/L, P<0.01) but that of TAC remarkably lower in the former than in the latter (［10.2±3.5］ vs ［33.2±7.9］ U/L, P<0.01). The rate of fertilization was significantly lower in the high DFI than in the low DFI group (［58.9±30.0］ vs ［77.2±25.0］%, P<0.01), but there were no significant differences between the two groups in the rates of cleavage (［70.7±35.6］ vs ［80.4±15.6］%P>0.05) and high-quality embryos (［40.4±31.3］ vs ［41.7±29.4］%,P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSperm DNA damage is associated with seminal oxidative stress and may affect the outcomes of IVF by reducing the rate of fertilization.