OBJECTIVE: In a previous study a number of sperm-specific antigens were identified which reacted with antisperm antibodies from both infertile and vasovasostomised males. To investigate the localisation and distribution of these antigens and their role in male fertility, monoclonal antibodies were raised against them; immunoblotting techniques were used to select only those antibodies which competed with human antisperm antibodies for these human auto-antigens. DESIGN: One antibody, NW21, reacted with an 18 kDa auto-antigen present on epididymal sperm but absent from testicular sperm. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the antigen is produced in small basal cells between the columnar epithelium of the corpus epididymis, passes up into the tubule and then coats sperm passing along the epididymis. Sperm stored in the cauda epididymis and ductus deferens stain strongly for this sperm coating glycoprotein. CONCLUSIONS: The localisation of this antigen supports the suggestion that auto-immune infertility may represent a response to epididymal rather than testicular sperm. Monoclonal antibodies raised to unique and immunologically accessible sperm coating proteins, produced in the epididymis rather than in the testis, would seem to present an excellent theoretical solution to male contraception.
OBJECTIVE: In a previous study a number of sperm-specific antigens were identified which reacted with antisperm antibodies from both infertile and vasovasostomised males. To investigate the localisation and distribution of these antigens and their role in male fertility, monoclonal antibodies were raised against them; immunoblotting techniques were used to select only those antibodies which competed with human antisperm antibodies for these human auto-antigens. DESIGN: One antibody, NW21, reacted with an 18 kDa auto-antigen present on epididymal sperm but absent from testicular sperm. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the antigen is produced in small basal cells between the columnar epithelium of the corpus epididymis, passes up into the tubule and then coats sperm passing along the epididymis. Sperm stored in the cauda epididymis and ductus deferens stain strongly for this sperm coating glycoprotein. CONCLUSIONS: The localisation of this antigen supports the suggestion that auto-immune infertility may represent a response to epididymal rather than testicular sperm. Monoclonal antibodies raised to unique and immunologically accessible sperm coating proteins, produced in the epididymis rather than in the testis, would seem to present an excellent theoretical solution to male contraception.
Authors: Sajal Gupta; Rakesh Sharma; Ashok Agarwal; Florence Boitrelle; Renata Finelli; Ala'a Farkouh; Ramadan Saleh; Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid; Murat Gül; Birute Zilaitiene; Edmund Ko; Amarnath Rambhatla; Armand Zini; Kristian Leisegang; Shinnosuke Kuroda; Ralf Henkel; Rossella Cannarella; Ayad Palani; Chak-Lam Cho; Christopher C K Ho; Daniel Suslik Zylbersztejn; Edoardo Pescatori; Eric Chung; Fotios Dimitriadis; Germar-Michael Pinggera; Gian Maria Busetto; Giancarlo Balercia; Gianmaria Salvio; Giovanni M Colpi; Gökhan Çeker; Hisanori Taniguchi; Hussein Kandil; Hyun Jun Park; Israel Maldonado Rosas; Jean de la Rosette; Joao Paulo Greco Cardoso; Jonathan Ramsay; Juan Alvarez; Juan Manuel Corral Molina; Kareim Khalafalla; Kasonde Bowa; Kelton Tremellen; Evangelini Evgeni; Lucia Rocco; Marcelo Gabriel Rodriguez Peña; Marjan Sabbaghian; Marlon Martinez; Mohamed Arafa; Mohamed S Al-Marhoon; Nicholas Tadros; Nicolas Garrido; Osvaldo Rajmil; Pallav Sengupta; Paraskevi Vogiatzi; Parviz Kavoussi; Ponco Birowo; Raghavender Kosgi; Saleem Bani-Hani; Sava Micic; Sijo Parekattil; Sunil Jindal; Tan V Le; Taymour Mostafa; Tuncay Toprak; Yoshiharu Morimoto; Vineet Malhotra; Azin Aghamajidi; Damayanthi Durairajanayagam; Rupin Shah Journal: World J Mens Health Date: 2022-01-01 Impact factor: 6.494