Flow Cytometric Analysis of Biomarkers for Detecting Human Sperm Functional Defects

The conventional semen parameter analysis is widely used to assess male fertility. However, studies have found that similar to 15% of infertile patients show no abnormalities in conventional semen parameters. Additional technologies are needed to explain the idiopathic infertility and detect subtle sperm defects. Currently, biomarkers of sperm function, including sperm apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and DNA damage, reveal sperm physiology at the molecular level and are capable of predicting male fertility. With flow cytometry (FCM) techniques, each of these markers can be rapidly, accurately, and precisely measured in human semen samples, but time costs substantially increase and results could be obstructed if all the biomarkers need to be tested with a single cytometer. In this protocol, after collection and immediate incubation at 37 degrees C for liquefication, semen samples were further analyzed for sperm apoptosis using Annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)/propidium iodide (PI) staining. The MMP was labeled with 5,5',6,6'-tetrachl-oro-1,1',3,3'-tetraethylbenzimidazolylcarbocyanine iodide (JC-1) probe, and DNA damage was assessed using the sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) with acridine orange (AO) staining. Thus, flow cytometric analysis of sperm function markers can be a practical and reliable toolkit for the diagnosis of infertility and evaluation of sperm function at both bench and bed.

Automated summary

The conventional semen parameter analysis is widely used for assessing male fertility, but about 15% of infertile patients show no abnormalities in these parameters. Additional technologies are needed to explain unexplained infertility and detect hidden sperm defects. Biomarkers of sperm function can reveal sperm physiology at the molecular level and predict male fertility. Flow cytometry techniques can measure these markers accurately, but the time and potential interference need to be taken into consideration.