The possibility of integrating motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) with intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) when treating couples with unexplained infertility.

Aula Asali,Vita Freger,Yael Pasternak,Arie Berkovitz,Netanella Miller,Michael Belenky,Marco Aurélio Gouveia Alves

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0232156

Abstract

To examine the efficacy of motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) and intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) for unexplained infertility. This historical study, included 271 couples with primary, unexplained infertility/male subfertility, treated at an outpatient, IVF clinic, 2015-2018. These couples underwent MSOME after ≥3 failed intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles and ≥1 failed IVF-ICSI cycle. They proceeded to intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) within 6 months of MSOME. IMSI is conducted on the day of oocyte pick-up with a fresh semen sample. Pregnancy and delivery rates were analyzed. The cohort was divided based on percentage of normal cells at MSOME: Group A included 55 with no normal cells, Group B, 184 with 0.5%≤ normal cells ≤1.5% and Group C, 32 with ≥2% normal cells. Normal spermatozoa were found in 49 (89%) of Group A after extensive search. Group A had higher pregnancy rate (62.7%) compared to B (47.2%, P = 0.05) and C (28.1%, P = 0.002). Group B had higher pregnancy rate than C (p = 0.045). Delivery rate was higher in Group A (52.1%) compared to B (34.1%, p = 0.023) and C (21.9%, p = 0.007). Pregnancy and delivery rates were higher in A compared to B+C (p = 0.018, p = 0.01, respectively). MSOME may be useful for evaluating unexplained infertility. IMSI can be recommended for men with <2% normal spermatozoa at MSOME.

Highlights

Unexplained infertility refers to the absence of a definable cause for a couple’s failure to conceive after 12 months despite thorough evaluation, or after 6 months among women 35 and older [1]
motile sperm organelle morphology examination (MSOME) may be useful for evaluating unexplained infertility
intracytoplasmic morphologically-selected sperm injection (IMSI) can be recommended for men with

Summary

Introduction

Unexplained infertility refers to the absence of a definable cause for a couple’s failure to conceive after 12 months despite thorough evaluation, or after 6 months among women 35 and older [1] It affects 10–30% of infertile/sub-fertile couples [2,3]. MSOME enables detecting subtle sperm organellar malformations in motile spermatozoa that an embryologist might consider normal for fertilization at 200× to 400× magnification [5]. Using this technique together with a micromanipulation system has allowed the introduction of a modified intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure, known as intracytoplasmic morphologicallyselected sperm injection (IMSI) [6]. When the spermatozoa with normal morphology and motility selected for ICSI are detected under a magnification of ×400, in IMSI the motile spermatozoa are selected under magnification up to 6300×[5]

Methods

Results

Conclusion