Production of Anti-sperm Antibody (ASA) in Women

Abstract

AbstractThe factors that affect production of anti-sperm antibodies (ASAs) in some women are not fully understood. Moreover, the reasons why majority of women do not develop ASA on exposure to sperm are not clear.By examining the frequencies of HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DRB1 genes, the high frequency of HLA-DRB1*0901 and DQB1*0303 genes in the Japanese population may account for higher frequency of sperm-immobilizing antibody.Successful heterotransplantation with human peripheral blood lymphocytes (Hu-PBLs) from infertile women with sperm-immobilizing antibodies into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice indicates that the immune response resulting in the production of the antibodies in SCID mice might require the ongoing presence of the eliciting human sperm antigens.There is a possibility that ASAs are produced in infertile women treated with artificial insemination; however, it is still controversial. There was a significant difference of the incidence in sperm-immobilizing antibodies between the women treated by ICSI because of a severe male factor and those whose husbands had a normal sperm count. Therefore, the production of sperm-immobilizing antibodies is likely to occur in women with particular HLA haplotypes after repeated exposure to a large enough amount of sperm.Characterization of sperm-immobilizing antibodies may help in the identification of sperm-specific antigens that can be used as candidate antigens for the development of sperm-based contraceptive vaccines.