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Correlation of Antispermatozoal Antibody With Infertility in Immunized Female Rabbits Using 14 C‐Protein A in a Filter Radioassay
Author(s) -
ENG LUDEMAN A.,
METZ CHARLES B.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology and microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 8755-8920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1986.tb00054.x
Subject(s) - sperm , andrology , antibody , antigen , radioimmunoassay , infertility , biology , centrifugation , chemistry , chromatography , immunology , medicine , endocrinology , pregnancy , genetics
The meaningful detection of antisperm antibody in immunologically infertile females has been confounded by the many methods of assay that exist. With many of these methods there is poor correlation of assay results with infertility. In this report, female rabbits were rendered partially or completely infertile by immunization with sperm fractions. A filter radioassay for antisperm antibody was developed that consists of incubating 10 7 sperm with sperm from immunized rabbits and 14 C‐Protein A, a long‐lived and versatile indirect radiolabel for many antibodies of the IgG class. The spermatozoa are washed by rapid vacuum filtration on polycarbonate membrane filters instead of by time‐consuming centrifugation. The filters with the collected spermatozoa are then counted in a liquid scintillation counter. Sera from female rabbits isoimmunized with sperm antigens show a highly significant correlation (r = −0.904; p < 0.001) between assay results and infertility as measured by the percentage of eggs that underwent cleavage after artificial insemination.