Inhibition of sperm penetration through human zona pellucida by antisperm antibodies.
An in vitro penetration test using human spermatozoa, sera, and eggs stored in a highly concentrated salt solution was designed for examination of the effect of antisperm antibodies on the process of fertilization. Spermatozoa from a healthy fertile donor incubated in modified Biggers, Whiiten and Whittingham (BWW) medium containing 7.5% antisperm-antibody-negative serum, could penetrate through the zonae pellucidae of the stored eggs, but not when the spermatozoa from the same donor had been incubated in modified BWW medium containing 7.5% antisperm-antibody-positive serum. After the antisperm-antibody-positive serum was absorbed with washed spermatozoa, the sperm penetration was not blocked. Therefore, antisperm antibodies appear to block human sperm penetration through the human zona pellucida.
D000328:Adult; D000906:Antibodies / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007163:Immunosorbent Techniques; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000502:physiology
D000906:Antibodies