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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Fluorimetric Techniques for the Assessment of Sperm Membranes
Published on: November 28, 2018
Effect of leukocytospermia and processing by discontinuous density gradient on sperm nuclear DNA fragmentation and
Roberta Maria Fariello1, Paula Toni Del Giudice, Deborah Montagnini Spaine
1Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, Sao Paulo Federal University, R Cotoxó 424 ap 13, 05021-000, Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil. ro.fariello@yahoo.com.br
Purpose:
To assess the effect of leukocytospermia and semen processing on sperm DNA and mitochondria.
Methods:
Twenty-two patients with and 41 without leukocytospermia were included. Sperm DNA fragmentation was assessed by the Comet assay, and mitochondrial activity by a colorimetric method for active mitochondria. Semen was processed using Percoll, and motility, DNA fragmentation, and mitochondrial activity were analyzed pre- and post-processing.
Results:
No differences were observed in age, abstinence, volume, sperm morphology, progressive motility, concentration, and vitality (p>0.10). Variables were grouped according to time (pre- vs post-processing) and group (leukocytospermia vs non-leukocytospermia) because no interactions could be observed. Leukocytospermia was associated to increased DNA fragmentation, while semen processing led to a decrease in DNA fragmentation and to increased mitochondrial activity.
Conclusion:
While semen processing selects sperm with higher rates of DNA integrity independent of the presence or absence of leukocytes in semen, samples without leukocytospermia present more sperm without DNA fragmentation. Semen processing also selects sperm with higher mitochondrial activity.
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