Abstract
Purpose
The present study aimed to evaluate whether combining the magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS) with density-gradient (DG) or swim-up (SU) sperm separation techniques can improve sperm selection to obtain higher quality spermatozoa.
Methods
Two commonly used sperm selection techniques, SU and DG, were compared to MACS combined with either SU or DG. Spermatozoa obtained from normozoospermic (n = 10) and oligozoospermic (n = 10) cases were grouped as SU, DG, SU+MACS, and DG+MACS followed by the analysis of sperm morphology, motility, DNA integrity, and the levels of Izumo-1 and PLCZ proteins.
Results
Although spermatozoa obtained by SU or DG when combined with MACS have improved aspects when compared to SU or DG alone, results did not reach a statistically significant level. Moreover, separation with MACS caused a significant loss in the numbers of total and rapid progressive spermatozoa.
Conclusions
Considering the cost/benefit ratio, MACS application together with traditional techniques may only be preferred in certain cases having higher concentrations of spermatozoa, but it does not seem to be an ideal and practical sperm selection technique for routine use.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, 213S019) and Ankara University Scientific Research Project Coordination (AU-BAP 13O3330001). Preliminary outcomes of this study were presented in the ESHRE 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal.
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MACS application together with traditional techniques may be preferred in certain cases having higher concentrations of spermatozoa, although it seems that more powerful and practical sperm selection techniques are still needed for routine use.
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Cakar, Z., Cetinkaya, B., Aras, D. et al. Does combining magnetic-activated cell sorting with density gradient or swim-up improve sperm selection?. J Assist Reprod Genet 33, 1059–1065 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-016-0742-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-016-0742-0