• The effect of papaverine on sperm DNA fragmentation and membrane integrity of asthenozoospermic men after freezing-thawing
  • Zahra Azizi,1,* Malek Soleimani Mehranjani,2 Seyed Mohammad Ali Shariatzadeh,3 Nazila Najdi,4 Atena Sadat Azimi,5
    1. Ph.D. student, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, Arak, Iran
    2. Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, Arak, Iran
    3. Professor, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Arak University, Arak, Iran
    4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran
    5. Ph.D. Developmental Biology, Amir-AL-Momenin Infertility Treatment Center, Arak, Iran


  • Introduction: Sperm cryopreservation is a widely used technique to maintain and protect male fertility in various occasions such as infertility treatment and cancer therapies. However, the freezing process can adversely affect sperm quality by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS). Papaverine (PPV) known for its antioxidant properties, may help protect sperm from ROS-induced damage by reducing ROS levels within cells. This study aims to assess the impact of PPV on sperm DNA fragmentation during cryopreservation in men with asthenozoospermia.
  • Methods: In this study, 30 asthenozoospermic men were selected to refer to Amir-AL-Momenin infertility treatment Center Arak. semen samples were collected after 2-5 days of sexual abstinence period from patients. Each sample was divided into 3 groups. 1: Control (fresh) group, 2: Freeze group (treated with freezing medium alone), and 3: Freeze+ PPV group (treated with freezing medium +100µM PPV solution). Then sperm membrane integrity with hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) test and DNA fragmentation index (DFI) used to sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD) test were analyzed. Data were analyzed using Repeated Measure analysis.
  • Results: The findings of this study showed that the average integrity of the sperm membrane significantly decreased, while the percentage of DNA fragmentation significantly increased in Group 2 compared to Groups 1 and 3. Furthermore, the sperm membrane integrity in Group 3 improved compared to Group 2, while the percentage of DNA fragmentation (DFI) in Group 3 decreased relative to Group 2.
  • Conclusion: Administration of 100 μM PPV in vitro helps prevents membrane damage and DNA fragmentation. As a result, PPV an effective antioxidant plays a significant role in reducing oxidative damage and improving the quality of sperm parameters.
  • Keywords: Cryopreservation, DNA Fragmentation, Papaverine, Sperm.