Immune infertility: towards a better understanding of sperm (auto)-immunity. The value of proteomic analysis.

Antisperm antibodies (ASA) in the male cause an autoimmune disease 'immune infertility'. It has to be clarified whether each antibody binding to an antigen, which is identified on the sperm surface, also influences sperm function. In the past, the clinical interest in ASA was hampered by the fact that a standardized assay for the detection of ASA was lacking. There are several methods to characterize the cognate antigens of ASA. In the following article, reports from the recent literature of immunologically characterized sperm proteins-as cognate antigens of naturally occurring ASA or of artificially produced antibodies-will be quoted with respect to different sperm functions. As a practical consequence of the research on ASA-related sperm proteomics, those ASA that decrease male fertility by inhibiting sperm functions essential for fertilization will be identified.