SPERM ACROSOME STATUS AND SPERM ANTIBODIES IN INFERTILITY

Purpose: We studied whether the spermatozoa from sperm autoimmune infe rtile men undergo premature acrosomal loss and whether this relates to the presence of sperm antibodies in wives. Materials and Methods: We evaluated acrosome status of live washed native and overnight capacita ted spermatozoa from 17 sperm nonautoimmune fertile and 23 sperm autoi mmune infertile men using an immunofluorescent peanut lectin binding a ssay. We used cytotoxic and immunobead binding assays to prescreen the serum and seminal plasma of these men, and serum and cervical mucus o f the wives for immunological infertility. We performed immunofluoresc ent sperm antibody assays on all study samples to ascertain sperm anti body isotype levels in each sample. Levels of acrosomal loss in husban d native and capacitated spermatozoa were correlated with levels of Ig G, IgA and IgM sperm antibodies in the study samples. Results: Sperm a utoimmune infertile men had a significantly larger percentage of sperm (p < 0.0001) that had lost the acrosome and a lower percentage of spe rm with intact acrosome (p < 0.0001) in native and capacitated prepara tions in contrast to those of fertile controls. Levels of cytotoxic an d IgA antibodies, especially in seminal plasma and cervical mucus, cor related significantly with percentages of sperm with a total loss of a crosome in native and capacitated sperm preparations (p less than or e qual to 0.01). Conclusion: Infertile men with sperm antibodies in seru m and seminal plasma undergo premature acrosome loss. This loss may ex pose the reproductive tract immune system, especially that involving I gA, in autoimmune infertile men and the wives to high immunogenic leve ls of sperm acrosome membrane antigens, thereby rendering them immunol ogically infertile.