Effect of anti‐sperm antibody on the in vitro development of rat embryos

Abstract

Since we previously proved that the fertilized rat eggs in early developmental stage have antigen@) cross-reacting to spermatozoa, the effect of antibody to spermatozoa on the cleavage of fertilized rat eggs was examined in vitro. Fertilized eggs from Fisher rats in the morula stage were cultured in vitro for 15 to 39 hr in the medium containing antibody to rat spermatozoa and rabbit complement, and the developmental rates of morulae to blastocysts were compared with those cultured in the presence of either antibody or the complement alone. When rat morulae were cultured in the medium containing rabbit complement and IgG from rabbit antiserum to rat spermatozoa (heteroantibody) or from rat antiserum to rat spermatozoa (isoantibody), the development of morulae to blastocysts was markedly suppressed, whereas those cultured in the medium containing rabbit complement and IgG from the control rabbit serum or rabbit antibody IgG to rat spermatozoa alone without complement normally developed to the blastocysts. These results indicate that the antibody to spermatozoa in presence of complement can impair the in vitro development of fertilized rat eggs.

Diagnosis and treatment of immunologically infertile males with antisperm antibodies

“… 24 can impair sperm migration in the female genital tract, in particular in the cervical mucus 25 and the uterine cavity through the Fallopian tubes 26 . We also reported the inhibitory effects of sperm‐immobilizing antibodies on fertilization, 27–31 and postfertilization events 30–33 …”

Semen Analysis and Antisperm Antibody

“…Although IVF with donor serum has been widely used for the treatment of patients with immunological infertility, many clinicians have expressed misgivings about the cytotoxic effects of antisperm antibodies on the fertilized eggs, as demonstrated in an animal model [37]. Also, sperm antigens have been found on the surface of fertilized ova [37, 381. Contrary to the fear of a possible risk of inhibition of nidation or fetal growth, we demonstrated the occurrence of a very high implantation rate (23.5%) and consequently a high pregnancy rate per cycle (37.1%) (7.9 and 17.9%, respectively, in the comparison group) as shown in Table 5 [39].…”

Sperm Immobilizing Antibodies in the Sera of Infertile Women Cause Low Fertilization Rates and Poor Embryo Quality In Vitro

“…As the sperm cell surface antigens were proved to represent in the developing embryos, 24 , 25 the embryo development could be impaired by ASA. By using immunofluorescent staining, Koyama et al 25 .…”

“…As the sperm cell surface antigens were proved to represent in the developing embryos, 24 , 25 the embryo development could be impaired by ASA. By using immunofluorescent staining, Koyama et al 25 . proved that the sperm specific antigens were transferred to the fertilized eggs and were located on the cell membrane in the various developmental stages from one cell to blastocyst in rats.…”