Evaluation of sperm's chromatin quality with acridine orange test, chromomycin A3 and aniline blue staining in couples with unexplained recurrent abortion

To evaluate the sperm's chromatin quality in couples with spontaneous recurrent abortion. Thirty couples with spontaneous recurrent abortion (case group) and 30 fertile couples (control group) referring to Zeinabieh Gynecology clinic of Shiraz were included. Semen samples were collected for each participant and were used for standard semen analysis and sperm nuclear maturity tests including Chromomycin A3 (CMA3), Aniline Blue (AB) staining and Acridine Orange (AO) test (by light microscopy). Patients in case group had significantly higher percentage of CMA3 (p < 0.001) and AB (p < 0.001) positive spermatozoa compared to controls. However AO results did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.656). Sperm morphology and progressive motility were negatively correlated with CMA3 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.043) and AB (p = 0.015 and p = 0.031) respectively. Evaluation of the sperm's quality via CMA3 and AB staining could be considered as one of the complementary tests of semen analysis for assessment of male factor in couples with spontaneous recurrent abortion.