ABSTRACT
Semen analysis is the basic and most commonly used test for predicting fertility; however, the standard measurements of sperm concentration, percentage motility, and morphology may not reveal subtle sperm defects. In this context, sperm chromatin abnormalities have been studied extensively in the past decade as a cause for male infertility.1 The focus on the genomic integrity of the male gamete has been further intensified by the growing concern of transmission of genetic diseases through assisted reproductive techniques (ART), specifically intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Accumulating evidence indicates that a negative correlation exists between disturbances in the organization of the genomic material in sperm nuclei and the fertility potential of spermatozoa, whether in vivo or in vitro.2,3 This emphasizes that stable DNA, which is capable of decondensation at the appropriate time in the fertilization process, is one of the criteria needed to consider a spermatozoon fertile.4 Conventional semen analysis per se cannot cover the diverse array of biological properties that the spermatozoon expresses as a highly specialized cell.5,6 In addition, the results of semen analyses can be very subjective and prone to intra-and interobserver variability.7
