Chemical synthesis of a decapeptide eliciting characteristics of a human spermatozoal antigen.
Antigenic spermatozoal polypeptides were purified by immunoaffinity chromatography, using immobilized immunoglobulin G from a sterile woman. One of these peptides showed Asp as N-terminal amino acid and had a sequence of Asp-Pro-Trp-Trp-Cys-Phe-Asp-Lys-Phe-Glu. Following synthesis, the synthetic peptide was tested in immunoinhibition test for its ability to react with anti-spermatozoal antibodies. In a solid-phase immunoassay significant inhibition of a rabbit anti-human spermatozoal antiserum was evident (Student 't' test p less than 0.05). The peptide also reacted with the naturally occurring agglutinating antispermatozoal antibodies in sera of sterile patients in 7 out of 9 cases (p less than 0.05). These results could open the way for the development of synthetic spermatozoal antigen preparations for an immunological regulation of fertility.
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000032:analysis; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D000941:Antigens; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D010455:Peptides / Q000276:immunology; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*
D000596:Amino Acids; D000936:Antigen-Antibody Complex; D000941:Antigens; D009842:Oligopeptides; D010455:Peptides