BACKGROUND: The possibility of a link between altered sperm morphologyand functional ability, possibly reflected on the genetic level, is still a matter of controversy. MATERIAL/METHODS:60 infertile males with pathological spermiogram and 14 healthy individuals with confirmed in vivo fertilitywere selected for our study. Ejaculated sperm was assessed according to the standard criteria set bythe World Health Organization, which constituted a basis for subgroup classification. The sperm penetrationassay (SPA) using human sperm and hamster oocytes was subsequently performed with concomitant cytogeneticanalysis of peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). RESULTS: More than 55% of infertile males with pathologicalspermiogram exhibited a decreased ability for penetration of the oocyte (SPAL30%). The lowest penetrationability was observed in the semen of patients with oligoasthenoteratozoospermia (OAT), of whom as manyas 75% presented negative SPA values. We noted only 1 case of chromosome aberration (Robertsonian translocation)in the analyzed cohort of infertile patients. Strikingly, in the identified group of infertile patientswith chromosome structural polymorphism (acrocentric chromosomes), we revealed a statistically significantdecreased rate of sperm - oocyte penetration. CONCLUSIONS: A causative link may exist between sperm malfunctionand a specific feature of the chromosome variants detected in the blood leukocytes of infertile maleswith pathological spermiogram.

Keywords: Chromosome Aberrations, Cohort Studies, Infertility, Male, Karyotyping, Polymorphism, Genetic, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov, Sperm Head, Sperm-Ovum Interactions