%0 Journal Article
%T Assessment of Chromatin Maturity in Human Spermatozoa: Useful Aniline Blue Assay for Routine Diagnosis of Male Infertility
%A Afifa Sellami
%A Nozha Chakroun
%A Soumaya Ben Zarrouk
%A Hanen Sellami
%A Sahbi Kebaili
%A Tarek Rebai
%A Leila Keskes
%J Advances in Urology
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/578631
%X During spermatogenesis, sperm chromatin undergoes structural changes and results in a high condensation. This nuclear compaction would be useful as a predictor of sperm fertilization capacity and pregnancy outcome. We purpose to evaluate firstly the relationship among chromatin maturity assessed by aniline blue staining (AB) and the semen parameters in infertile men. Secondly, we analyzed whether the sperm gradient density centrifugation is effective to select mature spermatozoa. Fifty-one ejaculates were investigated by semen analysis and stained for chromatin condensation with AB to distinguish between unstained mature sperm and stained immature sperm. AB was applied also on 12 ejaculates which proceeded by density gradient centrifugation to compare the rates of immature sperm before and after selection. Neat semen were divided into two groups: G1 ( ): immature sperm <20% and G2 ( ): immature sperm ¡Ý20%. No significant differences were detected in sperm concentration, motility, and normal morphology between G1 and G2. However, the rates of some morphology abnormalities were higher in G2: head abnormalities ( ) and microcephalic sperm ( ). We founded significant correlation between sperm immaturity and acrosome abnormalities ( ; ). Sperm selection has significantly reduced the rates of immature sperm. A better understanding of chromatin structure and its impact on the sperm potential is needed to explore male infertility. 1. Introduction Routine semen analysis is the basic analysis in the exploration of male infertility. It provides useful data concerning sperm count, sperm motility and viability, sperm morphology, performance of genital glands, and ejaculation. Although, the contribution of the semen analysis is limited on the assessment of some important criteria implicated in the sperm functional potential. In fact, it is well established that the maturity of sperm chromatin is essential for fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa and embryonic development [1¨C3]. The proportion of sperm with abnormal chromatin condensation in the ejaculate could be a prognostic factor in assessing the chances of fertilization and pregnancy [4]. Indeed, during spermiogenesis, sperm nuclear is completely reorganized and undergoes characteristic rearrangements with an important compaction [4¨C6]. This chromatin condensation involves a replacement of somatic and testis¡ªspecific nucleoproteins: histones by transition proteins then by more basic proteins named protamines P1 and P2 [5, 7] with a proper ratio of protamine 1 to protamine 2 (P1/P2) [8]. These protamines pack
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/au/2013/578631/