Objective: To understand and delineate the nature and level of DNA damage in association to semen parameters in infertile men.
Design: A prospective experimental study.
Setting: Alexandroupolis University General Hospital.
Patient(s): Eleven fertile and 27 infertile men with various types of infertility.
Intervention(s): DNA damage was induced by addition of mitomycin C and caffeine to lymphocyte cultures.
Main outcome measure(s): Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) levels were assessed in cultures providing a quantitative index of genotoxicity and chromosomal analysis was performed using G-banding and C-banding techniques.
Result(s): Karyotyping analysis indicated chromosomal fragility, trisomic lines, and marker chromosomes in some infertile men. Double minute chromosomes were noticed in 11 infertile men and were positively correlated with elevated SCE levels. Necrospermia and varicocele, irrespectively of the degree of severity, were positively correlated with elevated SCE levels.
Conclusion(s): Infertile men are prone to have DNA damage; the nature and level of DNA damage varies and is associated with semen parameters. The presence of double minute chromosomes alone is associated with increased double-stranded breaks and abnormal sperm concentration. This study could provide the basis to establish whether and through which process double minute chromosomes could be related to poor semen parameters and regulation of DNA repair.