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Midcycle cerevical mucus samples from 20 fertile women with negative, and from 6 infertile women with positive serum-sperm agglutinating activity were subjected to a qualitative protein analysis by the Ouchterlony-technique, to polyacrylamide (PAA) discelectrophoresis and after purification on spermatozoa they were also run against rabbit antihuman serum in the Laurell immuno-electrophoretic technique. By the Ouchterlony method the main serum protein fractions were shown to occur also in cervical mucus. No significant differences could be found in the protein pattern of samples from fertile and infertile females as detected by polyacrylamide (PAA) electrophoresis. In all samples a split protein fraction corresponding to serum albumin and a band preceding the protein fraction corresponding to serum preablumin were observed. In 2 samples from infertile females it could be demonstrated that immunoglobulins occurring in the cervical mucus were directed towards antigenic sperm components.

Spermatozoa were solubilized by cleaving the disulphide bonds with dithioerythrol and protecting the weak antigen responsable for spermagglutination with Na-dodecylsulphate. The fact that spermagglutinating activity could still be absorbed from female sera by solubilized spermatozoa indicates that the antigen has not been destroyed by the applied procedure. By gelelectrophoresis four fractions could be separated. Antibody fraction from four sera and three cervical mucus samples of women with humoral spermagglutinating antibody--activity were used as indicator antbodies in crossed immunoelectrophoresis of solubilized spermatozoa. As negative controls served four sera and two cervical mucus samples. A precipitation line could only be detected in positive cases. The second spermfraction of gel-electrophoresis was found to contain the antigen reacting with the known antibodies from the applied FD-positive sera and cervical mucus samples.

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