Sperm antigens recognized by antisperm antibodies present in sera of infertile adults and prepubertal boys with testicular failure

Abstract

Immunoblotting of a repertoire of sperm antigens reacting with antisperm antibodies present in sera of infertile adults and prepubertal boys with testicular failure was performed. In the subgroups selected for this study, 55% of examined infertile women, 65% of infertile men and 64% of prepubertal boys with gonadal failure gave positive results by Western blotting with extracted sperm antigens. Sperm antigens with molecular weights of 57, 58, 62, 63 and 66 kDa were the most immunodominant entities recognized by antisperm antibodies from prepubertal boys. No positive reactions were detected by Western blotting in a control population of fertile adults, whereas in a group of prepubertal healthy boys only one sample revealed reactivity against sperm antigens of 58 and 70 kDa.

Organ‐sparing surgery does not lead to greater antisperm antibody levels than orchidectomy

“…ASA can impair sperm‐fertilizing capacity, as they are the main cause of immunological infertility; many target antigens to ASA with sperm agglutinating or immobilizing activities have been identified and their encoding genes determined [9,19–21]. Testicular neoplasms are often associated with the presence of circulating ASA in a high proportion of patients [22].…”

Antisperm Antibodies in Prepubertal Boys With Cryptorchidism

“…On the other hand, it has not been proved to what extent the antigenicity of the A type spermatogonia (appearing during the third to fifth months of life) or type B spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes in immature testes [5], may change when they differentiate into mature male gametes. Sperm antigenic determinants of similar molecular weights were recognized by sera samples of immune infertile adults and prepubertal boys with testicular failure [3]. Mininberg et al [7] detected ASA in serum of 28% of boys (aged between 8 weeks to 7 years) who underwent orchidopexy or the other inguinal surgery.…”

Proteomic identification of sperm antigens using serum samples from individuals with and without antisperm antibodies

“…The primary factor leading these reactions are antisperm antibodies (ASA) which can be present in human body fluids such as seminal plasma and cervical mucus but also in the blood of infertile men and women. In men, they are usually provoked in result of infections and/or mechanical injuries of testis leading to disconnection of blood–testis barrier; they can be also developed after vasectomy (Shetty et al ., ) or in cryptorchidism (Domagała et al ., ), but very often the molecular mechanisms of their induction are unknown. In women, ASA often occur as a result of weakness of natural mechanisms ensuring a molecular tolerance of females to spermatozoon.…”