Sperm Chromatin for the Researcher

Armand Zini, MD, Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada Ashok Agarwal, PhD, HCLD (ABB), Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

Part I: Human Sperm Chromatin: Structure and Function.- Sperm Chromatin: An Overview.- Sperm Nucleoproteins.- The Relationship Between Chromatin Structure and DNA Damage in Mammalian Spermatozoa.- Chromosome Positioning in Spermatozoa.- Sperm Mitochondrial DNA.- The Sperm Epigenome.- RNA Expression in Male Germ Cells During Spermatogenesis (Male Germ Cell Transcriptome).- Part II: Biological Determinants of Sperm Chromatin Damage.- Spermatogenesis: An Overview.- Role of Oxidative Stress in the Etiology of Sperm DNA Damage.- Abortive Apoptosis and Sperm Chromatin Damage.- Spermiogenesis in Sperm Genetic Integrity.- Part III: Laboratory Evaluation of Sperm Chromatin.- Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA®): 30 Years of Experience with the SCSA®.- Sperm Chromatin Dispersion Test: Technical Aspects and Clinical Applications.- Basic and Clinical Aspects of Sperm Chromomycin A3 Assay.- Cytochemical Tests for Sperm Chromatin Maturity.- Acridine Orange Test for Assessment of Human Sperm DNA Integrity.- Laboratory Evaluation of Sperm Chromatin: TUNEL Assay.- Basic and Clinical Aspects of Sperm Comet Assay.- Assays Used in the Study of Sperm Nuclear Proteins.- Sperm Epigenetic Profile.- Clinical Significance of Sperm RNA.- Part IV: Protocols and Integrity Tests.- Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA®).- Measurement of DNA Damage in Spermatozoa by TUNEL Assay.