Advancing Age May Decrease Mitochondrial Activity in Cumulus Cells.

Background: The goal of this study was to compare mitochondrial activity in cumulus cells (CCs) between young and advancing-aged women, the factors that affect mitochondrial activity, and their association with blastocyst quality. Materials and methods: This prospective study included 80 infertile women who underwent ICSI between May and October 2023. Participants were divided into two groups: older and younger than 38. The oocyte mitochondrial activity from CCs was evaluated using MitoTracker, and the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) was also evaluated. Results: The univariate and multivariate analyses revealed a significant difference in the MFI between the woman ≥ 38 age group and the lower age group (162.68 ± 79.87 vs. 228.39 ± 121.38; p-value = 0.005; 95%CI 19.97, 111.45). The factors that affected the MFI were women ≥ 38 years of age (p-value = 0.005; 95%CI -111.45, -19.91), total gonadotropin dosages (p-value = 0.006; 95%CI -0.08, 0.01), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) triggering (p-value = 0.006; 95%CI 36.46, 210.06). However, only women aged ≥38 years remained statistically significant after a multivariable regression analysis (p-value = 0.014; 95%CI -121.00, -14.30). In addition, only male age (mean age ± SD = 38.26 ± 5.13) was associated with high blastocyst quality in univariate and mixed multivariate analyses (OR 0.91; 95%CI 0.56, 3.04). The chemical pregnancy rate was not significantly different between the two age groups (34.5% vs. 56.7%; p-value = 0.162; 95%CI 0.2, 1.30). Conclusion: Advancing age decreased mitochondrial activity in CCs but did not affect blastocyst quality. By contrast, male age may be a predictor of high-grade blastocyst quality.

Effect of sperm selection method by cumulus oophorus complexes and conventional sperm preparation method on sperm quality and DNA fragmentation for assisted reproduction techonology.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the effectiveness of sperm selection using cumulus oophorus complexes (COCs) and conventional sperm preparation methods on sperm quality and DNA fragmentation METHODS: Normal semen samples under the World Health Organization (WHO)'s 2010 eligibility criteria were collected and processed using conventional sperm preparation methods. The prepared sperm were divided into two groups. Spermatozoa in the study group were selected based on their ability to penetrate a layer of COCs. In the control group, spermatozoa were kept in culture medium under similar conditions. The selected-sperm were evaluated based on sperm quality and DNA fragmentation. RESULTS: Thirty normal semen samples were recruited. Spermatozoa that were able to passthrough the COCs had significantly higher sperm motility parameters than the control group (curvilinear velocity [VCL; 143.5 vs 122.2; P < 0.01], average path velocity [VAP; 83.6 vs 69.3; P < 0.01], straight-line velocity [VSL; 67.95 vs 60.45; P < 0.01]). The percentage of normal spermatozoa morphology in the COCs group was significantly higher than in the control group (21.70% vs 18.76%). In addition, there was significantly less DNA fragmentation in the COCs group than in the control group (18.83 vs 10.83). CONCLUSION: Spermatozoa selected using COCs were likely to be effective in terms of sperm quality and DNA fragmentation.