Infertility in mice after unilateral vasectomy.
The effects of unilateral vasectomy upon fertility and antisperm antibody production were studied using DBA/1J mice. Thirty-six males underwent either unilateral vasectomy, unilateral orchiectomy, or sham surgery. In vivo effects upon fertility were monitored by matings. Antisperm antibody titers were measured monthly. In vitro fertilization was performed in the presence of serum obtained 4 months postoperatively, and serum testosterone levels were also determined. After 3 months, only 1 male in the vasectomy group induced a pregnancy (1 of 12), while all but 1 of the males in the two control groups induced a pregnancy (20 of 21). The geometric mean antisperm antibody titer was 1:169 in the vasectomy group, while the orchiectomy and sham surgery groups had titers of 1:4 and 1:14, respectively (P less than 0.0001). The percentage of eggs fertilized in vitro in the presence of serum from experimental mice fell from 80% in the two control groups to 40% in the unilateral vasectomy group. Unilateral vasectomy induced infertility in DBA/1J mice and an antisperm antibody response. Sera containing these antibodies inhibited in vitro fertilization. This suggests that infertility after unilateral vasectomy may be immunologically mediated by antisperm antibodies.
D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D002369:Castration; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D007248:Infertility, Male / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008811:Mice, Inbred DBA; D011247:Pregnancy; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014659:Vasectomy
D000906:Antibodies; D013739:Testosterone