P–007 Effect of swim-up on sperm morphology

Abstract

Abstract Study question To evaluate the effect of swim-up on the percentage of certain morphological defects in the semen population Summary answer Swim-up preparation led to significantly lower percentage of spermatozoa with cytoplasmic droplets, thick neck and also multiple defects. What is known already Swim-up is routinely used sperm preparation technique in ART practice. It is widely known that swim-up enhances sperm quality in terms of motility and sperm morphology. However, the effect of swim-up on the frequency of occurrence of the specific sperm morphological abnormalities is still missing. Study design, size, duration This observational study involved 30 teratozoospermic patients of Nadezhda Women’s Health hospital between December 2020 and January 2021. Sperm morphology was evaluated before and after swim-up preparation. Participants/materials, setting, methods Native semen was liquefied and was subjected to swim up. Semen analysis performed according to WHO 2010. Native semen and swim up samples from the same men were subjected to Kruger strict morphological evaluation. The analyzed sperm morphological defects included: head defects (large, small, tapered, pyriform, round, amorphous and double heads); midpiece defects (bent, asymmetrical, thin, thick, presence of cytoplasmic droplet); tail defects (short, hairpin, bent, coiled tail and terminal droplet) and multiple defects. Main results and the role of chance Wilcoxon paired test showed that the percentage of morphologically normal spermatozoa was significantly higher in the swim-up samples in comparison to the native semen (8.5±4.2% vs 4.9±3.2%, p < 0.05). In addition, the percentage of spermatozoa bearing multiple defects was found to be significantly lower in the swim-up samples than in the native semen (25.8±11.6% vs 37.0±15.0%, p < 0.05). Two specific sperm morphological defects were found to be significantly lower after swim-up preparation: the presence of cytoplasmic droplets (6.0±1.0% vs 8.6±1.5%, p < 0.05) and the thick neck (9.7±5.5% vs 12.8±5.8%, p < 0.05). No significant different were observed in the other morphological defects between swim up samples and native semen (p > 0.05). Limitations, reasons for caution Results obtained from this study need to be confirmed by larger group of samples. Wider implications of the findings: Our study showed a significant reduction of certain midpiece defects after swim-up. The observed selection of spermatozoa without thick necks and cytoplasmic droplets explains the effectiveness of swim-up on ART. In addition, the obtained results can serve as a guide for future validation of new sperm preparation techniques. Trial registration number Not applicable