Characterization of Sperm Population Following Different Selection Procedures

Different procedures are currently available to select the sperm population that will be used to inseminate the oocytes during Medical Assisted Reproduction (MAR). The selected population should contain fully functional spermatozoa that possess the ability to reach the fertilization site and allow optimal fertilization and embryo development. These abilities are strictly dependent on specific sperm morpho-functional features such as, but not limited to, motility, morphological abnormalities, apoptotic status [phosphatidylserine translocation (early stages of apoptosis)] and DNA fragmentation (later stages of apoptosis), The present study aims to determine which of the sperm selection techniques used in our IVF laboratory lead to selection of the best/healthy sperm population based on their morpho-functional parameters. For this purpose, unused raw semen after routine diagnostic analysis will be split in 3 fractions and will be processed immediately by different sperm preparation methods: 1) DGC, 2) DGC and MACS, and 3) MSS.

The sperm cells selected by each method will be analyzed for morphological and functional parameters.

Initial sperm concentration (×106/ml) will be assessed using a counting chamber.

Sperm motility will be evaluated on 200 spermatozoa under 40× magnifications and the results will be expressed as percentages.

After each selection procedure, concentration and motility will be determined with the use of a Neubauer counting chamber.