The integrity of sperm DNA plays a major role on offspring health and development. As the body of research on male infertility continues to grow, sperm DNA fragmentation, an indication of chromatin damage, plays an increasingly significant role.

For highly damaged DNA, the sperm DNA fragmentation has a detrimental effect in sperm potential for fertilization. Mixed results have been obtained when the sperm has suffered DNA fragmentation, as the damage is diverse and damaged chromatin can preserve some fertilizing potential. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that oocytes can repair fragmented DNA upon fertilization.

Human IVF and ICSI models have often been used to demonstrate the impact of DNA fragmentation on the fertilization of healthy donor oocytes. The correlation between DNA fragmentation and fertilization has been further explored through several studies involving different conditions such as recurrent pregnancy loss, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

DNA fragmentation has been linked to a wide range of variables, including advanced paternal age, varicocele, chronic diseases, infections, and lifestyle factors.

This Research Topic also encourages contributions from animal studies, which due to the absence of confounding variables often present in clinical trials, provide valuable support for the negative effect of DNA fragmentation on fertility. We welcome contributions of any type accepted by Frontiers in Endocrinology's Reproduction section (including review articles, original research articles, and opinion articles) on the following topics around DNA Fragmentation:

- Sperm DNA Fragmentation testing

- Sperm DNA fragmentation and Pregnancy outcomes

- Correlation between DNA fragmentation and sperm morphology

- Impact of sperm DNA fragmentation on ICSI cycle outcome

- Causes of DNA fragmentation: extrinsic and intrinsic factors

- Novel tools for sperm analysis

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