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Variability in antisperm and antiembryonic humoral immune responses

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Future Aspects in Contraception

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Abstract

It is well established that antisperm auto- and alloimmune responses occur naturally in men and women, and high titres of antisperm antibodies have been associated with infertility in both cases1–3. Antisperm antibodies in infertility sera block sperm function in a variety of in vitro tests4, 5 and may also react with the early embryo which expresses sperm antigensb6–8 and is a particularly vulnerable target for antibody effects9. For these reasons sperm antigens are being investigated for contraceptive vaccines10. Recently several laboratories have demonstrated that monoclonal antibodies to various sperm antigens can block fertilization and other fertility-related functions in vitro and in vivo 11–13. Such studies are an initial step towards the development of sperm antigen vaccines but are still far from the goal of producing reliable and safe long-term contraceptive effects. First, human sperm antigens that induce immune responses in the experimental setting (xenogenic (different species) injection in the presence of powerful immune adjuvants) may not effectively induce immune responses in humans by clinically acceptable immunization protocols. In addition, it has been shown that immune responses to sperm antigens are extremely variable; studies in experimental animals have shown that sperm immunity, like most immune responses, is affected by factors such as genetics, age, sex, health status and previous exposure to immunizing antigen. Furthermore, it appears that natural immunoregulatory mechanisms are in operation to minimize immune responses to sperm antigens and to impede the action of humoral and cellular immune mechanisms in the reproductive tract.

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Authors
  1. D. J. Anderson
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  2. J. A. Madrigal
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B. Runnebaum T. Rabe L. Kiesel

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© 1985 MTP Press Limited

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Anderson, D.J., Madrigal, J.A. (1985). Variability in antisperm and antiembryonic humoral immune responses. In: Runnebaum, B., Rabe, T., Kiesel, L. (eds) Future Aspects in Contraception. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4916-4_26

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-4916-4_26

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8678-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-4916-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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