Toxicology
SCSA Animal Data
The first 20 years of our sperm DNA fragmentation research projects measured sperm samples from bulls, boars, rams, and stallions which firmly established the predictive power of the SCSA for reduced reproductive outcomes. In addition, numerous mouse, rat, bovine, and human toxicology studies showed that the SCSA is a very sensitive assay for male factor infertility and toxicant- induced DNA damage.
Elevated levels of sperm DNA fragmentation can be attributed to various pathological conditions including cryptorchidism, cancer, varicocele, fever, age, infection, and leukocytospermia among others. Many environmental conditions can also affect sperm DNA fragmentation such as chemotherapy, radiation, prescription Rx, air pollution, pesticides, chemicals, heat, and ART preparation protocols. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity may be a major factor in DNA strand breakage (Aitken 2003). It is now recognized that elevated sperm DNA fragmentation has a significant negative effect on reproductive outcome.
The pioneering manuscript published by Evenson and colleagues showed a significant relationship between human and bull sperm DNA fragmentation and loss of fertility potential (Evenson et al. 1980). This was followed by a series of papers showing that sperm retrieved from mice exposed to reproductive toxicants had dose-response elevated SCSA defined DNA fragmentation values. Exposure of mice to methyl methanesulfonate led to a dramatic increase (100% DFI) in SCSA defined DNA fragmentation three days post exposure (Evenson et al. 1993). Exposure to thiotepa, hydroxyurea, triethylenemelamine, and ethylnitrosourea in mice all showed alterations in testicular cell kinetics and an increase in sperm DNA fragmentation (Evenson et al. 1986, Evenson and Jost 1993, Evenson et al. 1989, Evenson et al. 1985). Since these early papers, the SCSA has measured sperm DNA fragmentation in over 100,000 sperm samples from many species including bull, stallion, boar, gazelle, dog, cat, fowl, gorilla, porpoise, killer whale, fish, mouse and rat.
The SCSA has proven useful in the areas of livestock and captive wildlife reproduction efficiency and toxicology. The following is a brief review of SCSA and animal toxicology/reproductive data.
Animal Collection
Collecting and shipping semen samples to SCSA® Diagnostics, Inc. for SCSA® test analysis is simple and efficient. Samples may be collected and shipped from a clinic or directly from the field using dry ice to preserve the samples. Abstinence time, extenders and other factors may influence SCSA® test results.
Below is the list of animals we currently collection samples from. Please call if there are any questions.
Other review articles:
Evenson, D.P., Larson, K., and Jost, L.K. (2002) The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSATM): clinical use for detecting sperm DNA fragmentation related to male infertility and comparisons with other techniques. Andrology Lab Corner. J. Andrology 23: 25-43.
Evenson, D. (1996) Sperm Quality Measures for Fertility Assessment. Veterinary Applications for Flow Cytometry. Purdue University CDROM II.
Evenson, D.P. (1999) Loss of livestock breeding efficiency due to uncompensable sperm nuclear defects. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 11:1-15.
Evenson, D.P. (2002) Role of sperm chromatin damage in abnormal reproductive outcomes. Society for Theriogeneology /ACT Annual Conference & Symposia Proceedings. Published by SFT. Colorado Springs, CO, Aug 7-11, 2002.
Evenson, D.P. and Ballachey, B.E. (1988) Sperm chromatin structure assay usefulness for the assessment of semen quality and fertility potential. In: Proceedings of 11th International Congress on Animal Reproduction and Artificial Insemination. University College, Dublin, Ireland.
Love, C.C., (2005) The sperm chromatin structure assay: a review of clinical applications Anim Reprod Sci. 1:39-45