Anti-sperm antibody levels are not related to fertilization or pregnancy rates after IVF or IVF/ICSI

Abstract

Seminal antisperm antibodies (ASAs) have been associated with male infertility and a reduced probability of achieving a spontaneous pregnancy. However, the impact of ASAs on reproductive outcomes after assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) remains controversial. We sought to further examine the relationship between ASAs and reproductive outcomes after in vitro fertilization (IVF) or IVF with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). We conducted a retrospective study of consecutive IVF and IVF/ICSI cycles where the male partner had had direct ASA testing in the six months preceding the ART cycle. We examined the relationship between semen parameters (sperm concentration, motility, strict morphology, ASA levels [by direct mixed agglutination reaction and expressed as the percentage of spermatozoa with IgG or IgA antibodies]) and reproductive outcomes (fertilization and clinical pregnancy rate) after IVF and IVF/ICSI. There was no significant relationship between direct ASA levels and reproductive outcomes after IVF and IVF/ICSI. Similarly, we found no significant relationships between sperm parameters (concentration, motility, strict morphology) and reproductive outcomes after IVF and IVF/ICSI. Clinical pregnancy rates were not significantly different in ASA-positive (>50% of sperm coated with ASAs) compared with ASA-negative samples (42% vs. 52% respectively, odds ratio: 1.45 (95% CI 0.63, 3.30, P>0.05). The data indicate that ASAs in semen are not associated with reproductive outcomes (fertilization and clinical pregnancy rate) after IVF or IVF/ICSI.