Abstract
To investigate the mechanism of the blocking effect of sperm immobilizing antibodies on human fertilization, an in vitro zona penetration test was carried out using media containing the IgG fraction extracted from sperm immobilizing antibody-negative or-positive serum. The sperm penetration rate of the test was 100% (6/6) when spermatozoa were treated with the IgG fraction derived from sperm immobilizing antibody-negative serum, whereas it was only 17% (1/6) when spermatozoa were treated with the IgG fraction derived from sperm immobilizing antibody-positive serum. Electron microscopic observation of the sperm immobilizing antibody-negative and-positive serum-treated spermatozoa showed that the number of acrosome-reacted spermatozoa was significantly greater in the sperm immobilizing antibody-negative serum than in the antibody-positive serum. Therefore, it appears that one of the blocking mechanisms of the spermatozoal penetration of the zona pellucida by sperm immobilizing antibodies may be due to inhibition of the acrosome reaction in the spermatozoa.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Manarang-Pangan S, Behrman SJ: Spermatoxicity of immune sera in human infertility. Fertil Steril 1971;22:145–151
Cantuária AA: Sperm immobilizing antibodies in the serum and cervicovaginal secretions of infertile and normal women. Br J Obstet Gynecol 1977;84:865–868
Fjällbrant BO: Cervical mucus penetration by human spermatozoa treated with anti-spermatozoal antibodies from rabbit and man. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand 1969;48:71–84
Hogarth PJ:In Immunological Aspects of Mammalian Reproduction. New York, Praeger, 1982, p 78
Ackermann SB, Graff D, van Uem JFHM, Swanson RJ, Veeck LL, Acosta AA, Garcia JE: Immunologic infertility and in vitro fertilization. Fertil Steril 1986;42:474–477
Yovich JL, Stanger JD, Kay D, Boettcher B: In-vitro fertilisation of oocytes from women with serum antisperm antibodies. Lancet 1984;I:369–370
Isojima S, Tsuchiya K, Koyama K, Tanaka C, Naka O, Adachi H: Further studies on sperm-immobilizing antibody found in sera of unexplained cases of sterility in women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1972;112:199–207
Tsukui S, Noda Y, Yano J, Fukuda A, Mori T: Inhibition of sperm penetration through human zona pellucida by antisperm antibodies. Fertil Steril 1986;46:92–96
Koyama K, Ikuma K, Kubota K, Isojima S: Quantitative sperm immobilization test and its clinical application. Acta Obstet Gynaecol Jpn 1979;31:1906–1912
Bronson RA, Cooper GW, Rosenfeld DL: Complement-mediated effects of sperm head-directed human antibodies on the ability of human spermatozoa to penetrate zona-free hamster eggs. Fertil Steril 1983;40:91–95
Fukuda A, Noda Y, Tsukui S, Matsumoto H, Yano J, Mori T: Influence of water quality on in vitro fertilization and embryo development for the mouse. J Vitro Fert Embryo Transfer 1987;4:40–45
Nishimoto T, Yamada I, Niwa K, Mori T, Nishimura T, Iritani A: Sperm penetration in vitro of human oocytes matured in a chemically defined medium. J Reprod Fert 1982;64:115–119
Yanagimachi R, Lopata A, Odom CB, Bronson RA, Mahi CA, Nicolson GL: Retension of biologic characteristics of zona pellucida in highly concentrated salt solution: The use of salt-stored eggs for assessing the fertilizing capacity of spermatozoa. Fertil Steril 1979;31:562–574
Overstreet JW, Hembree WC: Penetration of human spermatozoa into the human zona pellucida and the zona-free hamster eggs: A study of fertile donors and infertile patients. Fertil Steril 1980;33:534–542
Yanagimachi R, Noda YD: Ultrastructural changes in the hamster sperm head during fertilization. J Ultrastruct Res 1970;31:465–485
Stock CE, Fraser LR: The acrosome reaction in human sperm from men of proven fertility. Hum Reprod 1987;2:109–119
Huang TTF, Tung KSK, Yanagimachi R: Autoantibodies from vasectomized guinea pigs inhibit fertilization in vitro. Science 1981;213:1267–1269
Tung KSK, Okada A, Yanagimachi R: Sperm autoantibodies and fertilization. I. Effects of antisperm autoantibody on Rouleaux formation. Biol Reprod 1980;23:877–886
Daitoh T, Kamada M, Mori T: Studies on biological actions of sperm immobilizing antibody on human fertilization in vitro. Acta Obstet Gynaecol Jpn 1986;38:1057–1065
Friend DS, Orci L, Perrelet A, Yanagimachi R: Membrane particle changes attending the acrosome reaction in guinea pig spermatozoa. J Cell Biol 1977;74:561–577
Johnson MH: The macromolecular organization of membranes and its bearing on events leading up to fertilization. J Reprod Fert 1975;44:167–184
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tsukui, S., Noda, Y., Fukuda, A. et al. Blocking effect of sperm immobilizing antibodies on sperm penetration of human zonae pellucidae. J Assist Reprod Genet 5, 123–128 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01131173
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01131173