A novel tissue engineering-based assay for immunological infertility.
Antisperm antibodies (ASA) are present in 9-36% of infertile couples, a condition called immunological infertility. The variability of ASA in terms of antigenic specificity and biological effects has made it difficult to design a test able to distinguish reliably between ASA that contribute to infertility and those that do not. To develop a reliable and reproducible method able to detect sperm antibodies, we took advantage of recent progress made in tissue engineering techniques. We used collagen gel as a bio-scaffold for the production of engineered sperm analogues. The advantages of using collagen gels include biocompatibility, ease of fabrication and low cost. We found that this tissue engineering-based assay is more specific and more sensitive than a conventional test routinely used for ASA detection. In addition, it exhibited low intra- and inter-variations. We envision the use of this novel approach for the detection of a variety of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases. In addition to diagnostic purposes, tissue-engineering based tests could be useful in monitoring treatments with bio-drugs.
Ahangari
G
G
Department of Molecular Medicine and Immunology, National Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Tehran, Iran. ghah@nigeb.ac.ir
Naderimanesh
H
H
Hossein-Nezhad
A
A
Zouali
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D003094:Collagen; D005260:Female; D005782:Gels; D006801:Humans; D007246:Infertility / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*
D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D005782:Gels; D003094:Collagen