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Chapter 19 - DNA Damage: TdT-Mediated dUTP Nick-End-Labelling Assay

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2021

Ashok Agarwal
Affiliation:
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
Ralf Henkel
Affiliation:
University of the Western Cape, South Africa
Ahmad Majzoub
Affiliation:
Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha
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Summary

Male infertility affects men worldwide with about 20 percent of couples having male factor infertility [1]. The routine semen analysis is the first step in the assessment of male infertility. However, conventional semen analysis does not provide a complete understanding of fertility potential, especially in patients with idiopathic infertility [2]. In this scenario, DNA integrity is the most important feature to ensure normal fertilization, implantation, pregnancy and embryonic development. Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) can be due to several intrinsic factors such as varicocele, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and chromatin packaging defects. Further, SDF can be caused by extrinsic factors such as lifestyle alterations, infections, exposure to xenobiotics, etc. [3–7].

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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