Maintaining sperm motility after ejaculation is important for fertilisation. Apoptosis may play an important role to reduce sperm motility after ejaculation. The aim of this study was to perceive whether or not an increase in apoptosis reduces sperm motility in a higher degree after ejaculation and whether it can be predicted by laboratory tests, such as sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA). Fifty-one Asthenozoospermia and 20 fertile subjects participated in this study. SCSA was applied using flow cytometry. Fluorescein-labelled inhibitors of Caspases (FLICA) method was used for assessment of active Caspase-3. Motility was assessed every 2 hr after ejaculation for 12 hr. Both SCSA and spermatozoa with active Caspase-3 were significantly correlated with the rate of motility reduction after ejaculation. In the subgroups who had SCSA <27% and active Caspase-3 <40%, the sperm motility reduction significantly occurred 6-8 hr after ejaculation compared to the fresh sample. In the cases of SCSA ≥27% and active Caspase-3 ≥ 40%, a significant decrease in motility was observed between 2 and 4 hr after ejaculation. The result demonstrated a significant trend in the rate of sperm motility reduction with SCSA increase, which suggests SCSA may indirectly show a good scheme of apoptosis status and may forecast the rate of motility reduction after ejaculation in Asthenozoospermia.
Keywords: Caspases; SCSA; apoptosis; sperm DNA damage; sperm motility.
© 2018 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.