Vet Services
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. Please call if there any questions.
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.