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  • Title: The incidence and influence of antisperm antibodies in infertile human couples on sperm-cervical mucus interactions and subsequent fertility.
    Author: Menge AC, Medley NE, Mangione CM, Dietrich JW.
    Journal: Fertil Steril; 1982 Oct; 38(4):439-46. PubMed ID: 7117571.
    Abstract:
    Analysis of serum samples from 698 infertile couples revealed antisperm antibodies present in 16.5% of the men and 21.6% of the women. Overall, 31.1% of the couples possessed at least one individual with positive results. Sperm-immobilized activity was detected in 29.6% of the cervical mucus (CM) samples from 459 women. Reduced sperm penetration of CM was significantly associated with serum titers of antisperm antibodies in both sexes and also with immobilizing activity in CM of women. The incidence of subsequent pregnancy in 376 infertile couples was reduced significantly if one or both partners had antisperm antibodies in serum or in genital tract secretions. The latter was reflected by evaluation of the immobilization, penetration, and shaking phenomenon of sperm in CM. Serum antisperm antibodies were analyzed for 698 human couples with primary or secondary infertility to evaluate the incidence of antisperm antibodies in the circulation of men and women and in the cervical mucus of women as well as to evaluate the association of these antibodies with sperm penetration of cervical mucus in vitro and the relationship of these factors with subsequent fertility. Questionnaires concerning fertility status were mailed to 520 couples that had been analyzed for sperm antibodies from 1-3 years earlier. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 402 couples, and 376 of these couples were suitable for inclusion in the study. The mean duration of infertility was 4.1 +or- 2.5 years, with a range of 1-15 years for all couples; for 31 couples with secondary infertility, the duration was 3.4 +or- 1.9 years, with a range of 1.5-5.5 years. 14.8% of the men 19.6% of the women had sperm-agglutinating antibodies. An examination of the type of agglutination indicated that 88% of the positive sera showed the tail-to-tail type and the remainder showed the head-to-head type. The overall incidences of immobilizing antibody were 5.6 for men and 6.4% for women. The incidence of immobilizing antibody increased significantly in both men and women with increasing agglutination titers, as reflected by the respective correlations of 0.50 and 0.34 between the 2 tests. The incidence of pregnancy was influenced significantly by the presence of circulating sperm-agglutinating and immobilizing antibodies in both sexes. Sperm-immobilizing activity was detected in 29.6% of the cervical mucus samples from 459 women. The frequency of immobilizing antibody activity was significantly greater in samples from women with positive serum samples by either the TAT or the SIT. Sperm penetration of cervical mucus was significantly affected by the presence of either type of serum antisperm antibody in men and by sperm agglutinins in women. The incidence of subsequent pregnancy among the couples was significantly associated with each of the techniques utilized to assess antisperm antibodies. The sperm shaking phenomenon showed a significant effect that was most dramatic in those couples with more than 75% of the motile sperm exhibiting shaking in which only 1 of 13 experienced a diagnosed pregnancy. Significant but low correlation coefficients were found for the occurrence of pregnancy with the results of the serum and cervical mucus techniques. Multiple partial correlation analyses of the variables with pregnancy occurrence revealed that of the serum tests, agglutinating titers had significantly greater coefficients for men and women.
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