Zeta Sperm Selection Improves Pregnancy Rate and Alters Sex Ratio in Male Factor Infertility Patients: A Double-Blind, Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Selection of sperm for intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is usually considered as the ultimate technique to alleviate male-factor infertility. In routine ICSI, selection is based on morphology and viability which does not necessarily preclude the chance injection of DNA-damaged or apoptotic sperm into the oocyte. Sperm with high negative surface electrical charge, named “Zeta potential”, are mature and more likely to have intact chromatin. In addition, X-bearing spermatozoa carry more negative charge. Therefore, we aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of Zeta procedure with routine sperm selection in infertile men candidate for ICSI. Materials and Methods: From a total of 203 ICSI cycles studied, 101 cycles were allocated to density gradient centrifugation (DGC)/Zeta group and the remaining 102 were included in the DGC group in this prospective study. Clinical outcomes were compared between the two groups. The ratios of X- and Y bearing sperm were assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods in 17 independent semen samples. Results: In the present double-blind randomized clinical trial, a significant increase in top quality embryos and pregnancy rate were observed in DGC/Zeta group compared to DGC group. Moreover, sex ratio (XY/XX) at birth significantly was lower in the DGC/Zeta group compared to DGC group despite similar ratio of X/Y bearings spermatozoa following Zeta selection. Conclusion: Zeta method not only improves the percentage of top embryo quality and pregnancy outcome but also alters the sex ratio compared to the conventional DGC method, despite no significant change in the ratio of X- and Y- bearing sperm population (Registration number: IRCT201108047223N1).