TY - JOUR
T1 - Abnormal reactivity of spermatozoa with immunoglobulin
T2 - Case report of an infertile couple
AU - Witkin, S. S.
AU - David, S. S.
N1 - Funding Information:
Received June 17, 1985; revised and accepted September 23, 1985. *Supported in part by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, New York, New York. tReprint requests: Steven S. Witkin, Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Cornell University Medical College, 515 East 71st Street, New York, New York 10021. :j:Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mt. Sinai Medical Center.
PY - 1986
Y1 - 1986
N2 - Infertility because of the presence of sperm directed antibodies is well documented, and an increasing number of clinical laboratories now test for these immunoglobulins with the use of a variety of techniques. When antibodies are detected, many clinicians prescribe short-term corticosteroid treatment to suppress immunoglobulin production. Because the side effects of oral corticosteroid usage are not trivial, the accuracy and specificity of the sperm antibody determinations are of paramount importance. The nonimmune binding of immunoglobulin to human spermatozoa, and subsequent sperm agglutination, has been documented. Through the process of disulphide exchange, the Fc region of IgG, especially when combined with antigen, can nonspecifically attach to the sperm surface. Therefore, in sperm antibody determinations, the appropriate controls must always be included to rule out false-positives because of the presence of antigen-antibody complexes in the test serum and/or sperm surface abnormalities, especially in the male partner, which result in increased nonspecific IgG binding. In this communication, we report on an infertile couple in whom an apparent finding of sperm antibodies in the woman was, in reality, a case of sperm surface abnormality.
AB - Infertility because of the presence of sperm directed antibodies is well documented, and an increasing number of clinical laboratories now test for these immunoglobulins with the use of a variety of techniques. When antibodies are detected, many clinicians prescribe short-term corticosteroid treatment to suppress immunoglobulin production. Because the side effects of oral corticosteroid usage are not trivial, the accuracy and specificity of the sperm antibody determinations are of paramount importance. The nonimmune binding of immunoglobulin to human spermatozoa, and subsequent sperm agglutination, has been documented. Through the process of disulphide exchange, the Fc region of IgG, especially when combined with antigen, can nonspecifically attach to the sperm surface. Therefore, in sperm antibody determinations, the appropriate controls must always be included to rule out false-positives because of the presence of antigen-antibody complexes in the test serum and/or sperm surface abnormalities, especially in the male partner, which result in increased nonspecific IgG binding. In this communication, we report on an infertile couple in whom an apparent finding of sperm antibodies in the woman was, in reality, a case of sperm surface abnormality.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0022655640&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)49113-2
DO - 10.1016/s0015-0282(16)49113-2
M3 - Article
C2 - 3943646
AN - SCOPUS:0022655640
SN - 0015-0282
VL - 45
SP - 138
EP - 140
JO - Fertility and Sterility
JF - Fertility and Sterility
IS - 1
ER -