Premium
Evaluation of Circulating Anti‐Sperm Antibodies in Fertile and Patient Populations
Author(s) -
CRITSER J.K.,
VILLINES P.M.,
COULAM C.B.,
CRITSER E.S.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
american journal of reproductive immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.071
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1600-0897
pISSN - 1046-7408
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0897.1989.tb01018.x
Subject(s) - isotype , sperm , antibody , population , biology , immunology , analysis of variance , andrology , medicine , monoclonal antibody , environmental health
Several reports have demonstrated the presence of anti‐sperm antibodies (ASA) in infertile populations; however there is a paucity of information regarding ASA in fertile populations. The purpose of this study was to establish objective criteria for the interpretation of the Immuno‐bead Binding Test (IBT) based on values obtained from fertile individuals. Sera from 20 fertile couples (n = 40) were assayed by using a modification of the IBT previously described by Clarke et al. An initial lower limit of binding for positivity (lower limit) of 14% was used based upon the mean value for each isotype plus 2 standard deviations (SD) of 4 negative control sera assayed 4 to 7 times each. One‐way ANOVA or chi‐square analyses were used to analyze these data. There was no difference in percent immunobead binding between males and females in the fertile population ( P > 0.1); therefore the data were pooled. Percent binding for fertile controls was: IgG, 21.7 + 31.9% (mean + SD); IgA, 19.5 + 25.8%; IgM, 16.9 + 14.9%. Initial analysis indicated no significant difference ( P > 0.10) in percent binding between fertile and infertile individuals. The corresponding frequency of positive values (for at least one isotype) using a 14% lower limit was 23/40 (57.5%). This was not significantly different ( P > 0.1) from the frequency observed in the patient population (140/ 242, 57.8%). New lower limits of positivity for each isotype were established based upon the mean plus 2 SD from the fertile control data: IgG, 85.4%; IgA, 71.1%; IgM, 46.7%. The frequencies of positive values obtained by using these criteria were not different ( P > 0.1) between fertile and patient populations (20.0 vs. 18.7%, respectively). In addition, neither the number of beads bound per sperm nor the location of bead binding differed ( P > 0.10) between the 2 populations. These data indicate that the frequency of circulating ASA is similar in fertile and infertile populations and suggests that ASA testing may be of questionable clinical significance.