Antibody binding patterns in infertile males and females as detected by immunobead test, gel-agglutination test, and sperm immobilization test.

Sera from 214 infertile patients were assayed for antisperm antibodies using the IBT, GAT, and SIT. The new IBT methodology was compared with the more classical tests. Although SIT and GAT did not correlate to any particular antibody class, both were negative if IgA was present alone. The immunoglobulin class presented a preferential sperm region binding site: IgG to the head and tail, IgM to tail tip only, IgA to head and tail. Furthermore, these immunoglobulins from the serum of male patients bound differently to sperm than immunoglobulins from female serum. Finally, we were able to calculate the relative sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for these tests.