"This is a comprehensive and detailed presentation of the role of sperm chromatin in reproductive health and disease. ... Basic scientists in andrology, embryologists, and clinicians dedicated to the treatment of the infertile couple are the intended audience. The editors are field experts in the clinical and laboratory assessment of infertility ... . This work is unique in this field and it offers an excellent compilation of laboratory advances in the assessment of sperm health." (Irvin H. Hirsch, Doody's Review Service, December, 2011)
I. Human Sperm Chromatin: Structure and Function
1. Sperm Chromatin: An Overview Rodney Balhorn
2. Spermatogenesis: An Overview Rakesh Sharma and Ashok Agarwal
3. Sperm Nucleoproteins Rafael Oliva and Judit Castillo
4. The Relationship Between Chromatin Structure and DNA Damage in Mammalian Spermatozoa Kenneth Dominguez, Chris D. R. Arca, and W. Steven Ward
5. Chromosome Positioning in Spermatozoa Andrei Zalensky, Olga Mudrak, and Irina Zalenskaya
6. Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Justin C. St. John and Bianca St. John
7. The Sperm Epigenome Donovan Chan and Jacquetta Trasler
8. RNA Expression in Germ Cells During Spermatogenesis (Germ Cell Transcriptome) Tin-Lap Lee, Albert Hoi-Hung Cheung, Owen M. Rennert, and Wai-Yee Chan
II. Laboratory Evaluation of Sperm Chromatin
9. Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA®): 30 Years’ Experience with the SCSA® Donald P. Evenson
10. Sperm Chromatin Dispersion Test: Technical Aspects and Clinical Applications Jaime Gosálvez, Carmen López-Fernández, and José Luís Fernández
11. Basic and Clinical Aspects of the Sperm Chromomycin A3 Assay Giancarlo Manicardi, Davide Bizzaro, and Denny Sakkas
12. Cytochemical Tests for Sperm Chromatin Maturity Igor Tsarev and Juris Erenpreiss
13. Acridine Orange Test for Assessment of Human Sperm DNA Integrity Alex C. Varghese, C. Fischer–Hammadeh, and M. E. Hammadeh
14. Laboratory Evaluation of Sperm Chromatin: TUNEL Assay Rakesh Sharma and Ashok Agarwal
15. The Basic and Clinical Aspects of the Sperm Comet Assay Luke Simon and Sheena E. M. Lewis
16. Assays Used in the Study of Sperm Nuclear Proteins Timothy G. Jenkins, Benjamin R. Emery, and Douglas T. Carrell
17. Sperm Epigenetic Profile Cristina Joana Marques, Alberto Barros, and Mário Sousa
18. Clinical Significance of Sperm RNA Jean-Pierre Dadoune, Isabelle Galeraud-Denis, and Serge Carreau
III. Biological and Clinical Determinants of Sperm Chromatin Damage
19. Role of Oxidative Stress in the Etiology of Sperm DNA Damage R. John Aitken and Geoffry N. De Iuliis
20. Abortive Apoptosis and Sperm Chromatin Damage Hasan M. El-Fakahany and Denny Sakkas
21. Spermiogenesis in Sperm Genetic Integrity Marie-Chantal Grégoire, Frédéric Leduc, and Guylain Boissonneault
22. Male Subfertility and Sperm Chromatin Damage Mona Bungum, Aleksander Giwercman, and Marcello Spanò
23. Aging and Sperm DNA Damage Fábio F. Pasqualotto and Eleonora B. Pasqualotto
24. Cancer in Males: Implications for Sperm Quality, Fertility, and Progeny Outcome Peter Chan and Bernard Robaire
25. Sperm Chromatin and Environmental Factors Aleksander Giwercman
26. Effects of Male Accessory Gland Infection on Sperm Parameters Aldo E. Calogero, Sandro La Vignera, Rosita A. Condorelli, Rosario D’Agata, and Enzo Vicari
IV. Sperm Chromatin and Assisted Reproductive Technology Outcomes
27. The Impact of Sperm Processing and Cryopreservation on Sperm DNA Integrity Dan Yu, Luke Simon, and Sheena E. M. Lewis
28. Structure of Chromatin in Human Sperm Bound to Hyaluronic Acid: The Benefits of PICSI Dish Mediated Sperm Selection Leyla Sati and Gabor Huszar
29. Electrophoretic Sperm Separation Steven Fleming and R. John Aitken
30. Antioxidants and Sperm DNA Damage Armand Zini and Maria San Gabriel
31. Sperm Chromatin and ART (IUI, IVF, and ICSI) Pregnancy Mona Bungum
32. Sperm DNA Damage and Pregnancy Loss After IVF/ICSI Armand Zini and Jason Matthew Boman
33. Postnatal Effects of Sperm Chromatin Damage Miriam Pérez-Crespo, Raúl Fernández-González, Miguel Ángel Ramírez, Eva Pericuesta, Alexandra Calle, and Alfonso Gutiérrez-Adán
34. Evaluation of Chromatin and DNA Integrity in Testicular Sperm Armand Zini and Naif Al-Hathal
V. Protocols and Integrity Tests
35. The Alkaline Comet Assay Sheena E. M. Lewis
36. Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA) Donald P. Evenson
37. Measurement of DNA Damage in Spermatozoa by TUNEL Assay Rakesh Sharma and Ashok Agarwal
38. Clinical Utility of Sperm DNA Integrity Tests Armand Zini
Sperm DNA damage is common and has been associated with reduced rates of conception, impaired embryonic development and increased risk of miscarriage. Although the exact causes of sperm DNA damage are unknown, it is clear that infertile men possess substantially higher levels of sperm DNA damage than do fertile men. Written by leading, internationally renowned clinicians and basic scientists with expertise in sperm DNA, Sperm Chromatin: Biological and Clinical Applications in Male Infertility and Assisted Reproduction provides readers with a thoughtful and comprehensive review of the biological and clinical significance of sperm DNA damage. The work covers the fundamental principles of sperm chromatin architecture and function, the proposed modes of DNA damage and repair, the tests of sperm DNA damage, the clinical aspects of DNA damage and the impact of DNA damage on reproductive outcome. Unlike any other title on the topic, Sperm Chromatin: Biological and Clinical Applications in Male Infertility and Assisted Reproduction is an invaluable addition to the literature and will serve as an indispensable resource for basic scientists with an interest in sperm biology and for urologists, gynecologists, reproductive endocrinologists, and embryologists working in the field of infertility.