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Abnormalities in sperm nuclei and chromatin can interfere with normal fertilization, embryonic development, implantation, and pregnancy. We aimed to study the impact of H2BFWT gene variants in sperm DNA on ICSI outcomes in couples undergoing ART treatment. One hundred and nineteen partners were divided into pregnant (G1) and non-pregnant (G2) groups. After semen analysis, complete DNA was extracted from purified sperm samples. The sequence of the H2BFWT gene was amplified by PCR and then subjected to Sanger sequencing. The results showed that there are three mutations in this gene: rs7885967, rs553509, and rs578953. Significant differences were shown in the distribution of alternative and reference alleles between G1 and G2 (p = 0.0004 and p = 0.0020, respectively) for rs553509 and rs578953. However, there was no association between these SNPs and the studied parameters. This study is the first to shed light on the connection between H2BFWT gene variants in sperm DNA and pregnancy after ICSI therapy. This is a pilot study, so further investigations about these gene variants at the transcriptional and translational levels will help to determine its functional consequences and to clarify the mechanism of how pregnancy can be affected by sperm DNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An infertility problem is a complex issue that affects 15% approximately of couples worldwide. The current study was designed to evaluate if there is a variation in the status of global DNA methylation among the study groups and to assess their impact on the protamine expression level and human semen parameters. Totalling 200 semen samples were collected from men (50 proved fertile, 60 normospermia and 90 oligospermia) with an average age of 34.9 ± 4.3 years. The DNA and RNA were isolated from purified spermatozoa; then, ELISA and qPCR were applied to estimate the status of global sperm DNA methylation and protamine expression level respectively. Besides that, the sperm chromatin decondensation and sperm DNA fragmentation were assessed. A significant variation was found in the global sperm DNA methylation and the protamine 1 and protamine 2 expression level among the study groups (p ≤.001). Down‐regulation has been found in the protamine 1 and protamine 2 expression levels in the oligospermia group compared to the proved fertile group with fold change (0.001 and 0.0002 respectively). In conclusion, this study proposes that the alteration in global DNA methylation may influence the protamine expression level and may be lead to abnormalities in human semen parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Insufficient nutrition and inappropriate diet have been related to many diseases. Although the literature confirms the hypothesis that particular nutritional factors can influence the quality of semen, until today, there are no specific dietary recommendations created for infertile males. Since the male contribution to the fertility of a couple is crucial, it is of high importance to determine the dietary factors that can affect male fertility., Aim: The aim of the present study was to evaluate differences in sperm quality parameters, sperm oxidative stress values and sperm acrosome reaction between vegan diet consumers and non-vegans., Setting and Design: Prospective study in a University Medical School., Materials and Methods: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the sperm quality parameters of vegan diet consumers (10 males who had a strictly vegetable diet with no animal products) and compare them with non-vegans (10 males with no diet restrictions). Semen quality was assessed following the World Health Organization (2010) criteria. Acrosome and DNA integrity has been evaluated using the immunofluorescence technique., Statistical Analysis: All variables were analysed by IBM SPSS version 24. Mean differences among groups were compared by Mann-Whitney U-test., Results: Obtained results showed that total sperm count (224.7 [117-369] vs. 119.7 [64.8-442.8]; P = 0.011) and the percentage of rapid progressively motile sperm were significantly higher in the vegan group compared with the non-vegan group (1 [0-7] vs. 17.5 [15-30]; P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the oxidation-reduction potential (0.4 [0.3-0.9] vs. 1.5 [0.6-2.8]; P < 0.0001) and the proportion of spermatozoon with DNA damage (14.7 [7-33.5] vs. 8.2 [3-19.5]; P = 0.05) were significantly higher in the non-vegan group in comparison to the vegan group., Conclusions: Results obtained in this study provide additional evidence about the favourable effect of a plant-based diet on sperm parameters. To confirm our preliminary findings, further studies including larger cohorts are warranted., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences.)

Differences in follicle cell function and follicular fluid biochemistry have been suggested to influence the developmental potential of human oocytes at both cellular and chromosomal levels. Follicular fluids provide the environment in which oocyte maturation occurs. Therefore, follicular fluids may affect fertilization and early embryonic development. In humans, it has been shown that follicular fluid exerts chemotactic activity towards neutrophilic granulocytes and that the concentrations of this activity are related to the outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment. The present study focuses on growth and cytokine presence in serum and follicular fluid of patients of reproductive age and their role in ovarian follicles, fertilization, embryo development, and implantation and to find out which growth factor could be a useful predictive parameter of IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcome.