Decreased fertility and motility of spermatozoa from rats immunized with a prealbumin epididymal-specific glycoprotein.

This study investigated the effects on the progressive motility, zona-binding capacity, and fertility of spermatozoa from the cauda epididymidis of adult male rats that were actively immunized against an acidic glycoprotein secreted by the epididymis. The percentage of motile spermatozoa was less than 5% in nine of ten rats that received the epididymal antigen, and 40 to 50% in eight of the 10 control rats. In animals immunized against the antigen, there was a dramatic decrease, but not a complete suppression, in the capacity of epididymal spermatozoa to bind the zona pellucida as compared with the nonimmunized controls. Fertility was decreased two weeks after the end of the treatment, but partial restoration of fertility was observed 6 months later.