The Immunoglobulin Class of anti‐spermatozoal antibodies in Serum

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the immunoglobulin class of circulating antisperm antibody using a technique called the indirect immunobead test (IBT). In the IBT sperm bound antibodies are detected using polyacrylamide beads coated with rabbit antihuman immunoglobulin classes IgG, IgA, and IgM. Of the 20 infertile men with serum immobilizins, 100% were found to be positive for sperm-bound IgG, 50% positive for IgA, and 0% positive for IgM, using the IBT. Similarly, 20 infertile females with serum immobilizins showed 95% positivity for IgG, 60% for IgA, and 15% for IgM. Thus there was a good correspondence between the presence of serum immobilizins as determined by the sperm immobilization test (SIT) and the IBT. This study provides data that indicates that IgG and IgA are the two major immunoglobulin classes of sperm antibody in male and female immune sera as detected by a simple, sensitive immunological technique, the serum IBT.

Microsurgical Epididymovasostomy for Obstructive Azoospermia: Factors Affecting Postoperative Fertility

“…Biopsy specimens of the obstructed testes showed normal sper matogenesis in all patients. Serum immunoglobulin G antisperm antibodies, measured by an indirect immunobead test [8] were posi tive in 6 of 21 tested patients (cases 5, 8, 16, 17, 19 and 23). The test was assessed as positive if >20% of motile spermatozoa displayed surface-bound immunobeads.…”

Effect of Sperm Washing and Swim-Up on Antibodies Bound to Sperm Membrane: Use of Immunobead/Sperm Cervical Mucus Contact Tests

“…False negative results (confirmed with positive SCMC tests) were caused by immunoglobulins in the supplemented serum that bind to the immunobeads, making them unavailable to spermatozoa. It is therefore important to wash any semen sample free from any agents that can react with the immunobeads [5,81. Although the semen samples used for the actual inseminations resulting in pregnancy in our patients were not the same as those used in the study, we believe that the results are valid.…”

Determination of adenosine triphosphate in human semen to estimate the fertilizing potential and to quantify sperm antibodies

“…The immunoglobulin class of 64 sera, half of which were positive for ASA in the ARC, was determined by means of the indirect SpermMAR test (Ortho Diagnostic Systems, Beerse, Belgium) (Hinting et af., 1988b) and the indirect immunobead test (Clarke et al, 1985). All sera with cytotoxic activity contained a significant amount of IgG class antibodies, whereas only few were positive for IgM or IgA.…”