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Sperm telomere length in donor samples is not related to ICSI outcome

  • Gamete Biology
  • Published:
Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Variations in sperm telomere length (STL) have been associated with altered sperm parameters, poor embryo quality, and lower pregnancy rates, but for normozoospermic men, STL relevance in IVF/ICSI is still uncertain. Moreover, in all studies reported so far, each man’s STL was linked to the corresponding female partner characteristics. Here, we study STL in sperm donor samples, each used for up to 12 women, in order to isolate and determine the relationship between STL and reproductive outcomes.

Methods

Relative STL was determined by qPCR in 60 samples used in a total of 676 ICSI cycles. Univariable and multivariable statistical analyses were used to study the STL effect on fertilization rate; embryo morphology; biochemical, clinical, and ongoing pregnancy rates; and live birth (LB) rates.

Results

The average STL value was 4.5 (relative units; SD 1.9; range 2.4–14.2). Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing regression and the rho-Spearman test did not reveal significant correlations between STL and the outcomes analyzed. STL was not different between cycles resulting or not in pregnancy and LB (Mann-Whitney U test, p > 0.05). No significant effect of STL on reproductive outcomes was found, with the OR for each unit increase in STL (95% CI) of 0.94 (0.86–1–04), 0.99 (0.9–1.09), 0.98 (0.89–1.09), and 0.93 (0.8–1.06) for biochemical, clinical, and ongoing pregnancy and LB, respectively. The multilevel analysis confirmed that the effect of STL on fertilization; biochemical, clinical, and ongoing pregnancy; and LB was not significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

After addressing STL independently from female variables, results show that STL measurement is not useful to predict reproductive outcomes in ICSI cycles using donor semen.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Francesc Figueras and Désirée Garcia for the statistical analysis support.

Funding

This work was supported by the intramural funding of Clinica EUGIN and by the Secretary for Universities and Research of the Ministry of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia (GENCAT 2015 DI 049) to M. T-M. and by Erasmus+ Programme to E.B.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clínica EUGIN, Travessera de les Corts 322, 08029, Barcelona, Spain

    Marc Torra-Massana, Montserrat Barragán, Emanuela Bellu, Amelia Rodríguez & Rita Vassena

  2. Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Marc Torra-Massana & Rafael Oliva

  3. Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy

    Emanuela Bellu

  4. Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Rafael Oliva

Authors
  1. Marc Torra-Massana
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  2. Montserrat Barragán
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  3. Emanuela Bellu
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  4. Rafael Oliva
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  6. Rita Vassena
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rita Vassena.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

Permission to conduct this study was obtained from the local Ethical Committee for Clinical Research. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committees and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration, as revised in 2013.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

Supplementary Table 1

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Supplementary Table 2

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Supplementary Table 3

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Supplementary Figure 1

Correlation between STL (RU) and sperm concentration (million/mL) (A), sperm motility (% A + B) (B) and sperm donor age (years) (C). n = 60 samples. (GIF 18 kb)

High-Resolution Image (TIFF 439 kb)

Supplementary Figure 2

Locally Weighted Scatterplot Smoothing (LOWESS) regression of STL (RU) against embryo morphological score (A), fertilization rate (B), abnormal fertilization rate (C), pregnancy rates (biochemical (D), clinical (E), and ongoing (F)), and live birth rate (G). (GIF 97 kb)

High-Resolution Image (TIFF 821 kb)

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Torra-Massana, M., Barragán, M., Bellu, E. et al. Sperm telomere length in donor samples is not related to ICSI outcome. J Assist Reprod Genet 35, 649–657 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1104-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1104-2

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