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EVALUATION OF SPERM CHROMATIN STRUCTURE ASSAY (SCSA REGISTERED TRADEMARK) IN HUMAN SPERM AFTER SIMULATED OVERNIGHT SHIPMENT
Citation:
Morris, R A., S C. Jeffay, L F. Strader, D. P. Evenson, Olshan. AF, L. W. Lansdell, AND S. D. Perreault. EVALUATION OF SPERM CHROMATIN STRUCTURE ASSAY (SCSA REGISTERED TRADEMARK) IN HUMAN SPERM AFTER SIMULATED OVERNIGHT SHIPMENT. Presented at American Society of Andrology, Phoenix, AZ, March 26 - April 02, 2003.
Impact/Purpose:
presentation
Description:
Home semen collection kits allow men to collect a sample at their convenience and send it via overnight mail to the laboratory. Benefits of this approach include facilitated sample collection from different geographic locations, minimized variability through analysis by a centralized lab, and possibly increased subject response rates. Previously, we showed that after simulated overnight shipment at room temperature (RT), sperm concentration and morphology remain stable, but as expected % viability (VIA) and motility (MOT) decline. Here we test whether SCSA? DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI), the % sperm with abnormal chromatin, increases after overnight storage, and if so, whether the change relates to sperm death or loss of motility. Semen samples from 28 fertile men enrolled in an ongoing epidemiology study were analyzed within 2 hours of collection (Dy1), i.e. upon receipt from a local courier, or after overnight storage at either RT (Dy2-RT), or in the refrigerator (Dy2-4C) to simulate shipment with ice packs (Dy2-4C). Dy1, Dy2-RT, and Dy2-4C aliquots were frozen and shipped to SCSA Diagnostics, Inc. for analysis. Mean DFI for Dy2-4C (16.1?1.6, SEM) was not different than for Dy1 (14.8?1.6), p>0.05 by a Repeated Measures ANOVA with Tukey-Kramer Multiple Comparisons Test on data paired by subject. In contrast, values for Dy2-RT were significantly higher (22.0?2.0, p<0.001). In addition, the correlation between DFI Dy1 vs. Dy2-4C (r=0.98, p<0.0001) was stronger than that for DFI Dy1 vs. Dy2-RT (r=0.76, p<0.0001) when tested by Pearson Linear Correlation. VIA decreased significantly in both Dy2 groups, as did MOT. The change in DFI for Dy1 vs. Dy2-RT was weakly correlated with the change in VIA (r=-0.39,p=0.04) and was not correlated with the change in MOT. Therefore the increase in DFI is likely not explained by loss of sperm VIA or MOT. In conclusion, DFI does increase after simulated overnight shipment at RT indicating that DNA damage can occur under these conditions, but the increase does not appear to be associated with sperm death or loss of motility. Samples refrigerated overnight remained stable for DFI (despite changes in motility and viability) and it appears, therefore, that inclusion of ice packs during shipment is necessary to obtain accurate values of DFI for overnight shipped semen samples. Supported by CR829327. This abstract does not reflect EPA policy.