PREMIO A LA INNOVACIÓN GENEA-ASEBIR 2023: IMPROVING SPERM DNA INTEGRITY THROUGH CUMULUS CELL-BASED SELECTION: A DISH EVALUATION
J Ten1, L Martí Ferri1, J Gosalvez2, C López-Fernández2, M Herreros Hergueta1, N Díaz Hernández1, Á Máñez Grau1, A Bernabéu García1, R Bernabéu Pérez1
1Instituto Bernabéu – Embryology Unit, Alicante (Spain), 2Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Department of Biology- Unit of Genetics. Madrid (Spain)
Correspoding author: jten@institutobernabeu.com
Sperm selection is a fundamental process in assisted reproductive techniques. Selecting the “best spermatozoa” can improve embryo development and increase pregnancy rates. Recent studies have shown that cumulus cells (CCs) surrounding the oocyte improve the selection of sperm with the best morphology and motility and with lower DNA fragmentation, improving the results of other methods, such as conventional density gradient centrifugation (CDG), which can modify different physiological characteristics of the sperm. In this study, we used a dish inspired by microfluidic devices to select spermatozoa that could cross the physical barrier formed by CCs (Proto-CCD). For this purpose, six CCs clusters from six oocyte donors were used along with semen samples from six different sperm donors. Sperm concentration, motility, and DNA fragmentation results from the control group (freshly ejaculated samples) were compared with those from the study group (fresh semen samples filtered with CCs using Proto-CCs D). The sperm concentration was reduced by 91% in the filtered sample with respect to the sperm concentration observed in the fresh samples. In all six cases, 100% of motile sperm was obtained after selection with CCs filter cells. With respect to DNA fragmentation, a mean decrease of 81% was observed after filtering sperm with the CCs. Proto-CC D allows for the effective selection of higher-quality spermatozoa for ICSI by increasing motility and reducing DNA fragmentation levels. Moreover, the prototype was designed to allow the ICSI to be performed on the same device. This facilitates the full protocol by integrating sperm selection and fertilization using the same device.