Correlation between neutral alpha-glucosidase activity and sperm DNA fragmentation.

Summary To evaluate the association between neutral α-glucosidase (NAG) activity and sperm DNA fragmentation (DFI), ejaculates from 24 men undergoing evaluation for sperm DNA damage as a part of infertility assessment were analysed. The mean ± SD and range for the semen quality of the 24 ejaculates are as follows: volume (3.1 ± 1.3, 1.8–6.0 ml); sperm concentration (45.6 ± 41.1, 1.3–151.2 × 106 ml−1); sperm motility (52.8 ± 28.8, 1–95%); sperm with fragmented DNA (17.6 ± 15.4, 1.7–56.0%); sperm with immature chromatin (9.6 ± 3.8, 2.5–19.1%); NAG activity (37.9 ± 18.3, 4.4–75.3 mU ml−1). The only sperm parameter significantly correlated with neutral α-glucosidase is the percentage of sperm DFI [correlation coefficient (r) = 0.4376, P = 0.03].