Evaluation of Anti-sperm Antibodies in Relevance to Testosterone Levels in Serum and Seminal Plasma in Infertile Men

Abstract

Background: Immunological infertility is expected to be the reason of infertilityin 9-36% of the concerned twosomes. The major cause of immunologicalinfertility is the creation of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA), which influence thecapability of insemination of spermatozoa. It has been detected that anti-spermantibodies (ASA) are present either systemically in blood or locally in seminalplasma of approximately 10% of infertile male patients. Immunity to sperm cancause infertility; humoral antibodies directed against sperm did not necessarilyimpair fertility unless the circulating antibodies are also present within the reproductivetract and on the living sperm surface. Hormonal imbalance and spermautoimmunity have been considered as two systems that play in near associationand affect each other. Testosterone is the Steroid hormone necessary for the developmentand maintenance of secondary sexual characteristics as well as initiationand maintenance of Spermatogenesis .It was known that males with abnormalseminal fluids have lower concentrations of the testosterone hormone.Objectives: To study the serum & seminal plasma antisperm antibodies levels in relevance tolevels of testosterone in serum and seminal plasma accordingly to sperm function parametersin different groups of infertile patients.Subjects,Materials and Methods: Blood and semen samples were collected from (80) subjects(60) infertile patients (20Asthenozoospermic, 20 Oligozoospermic,20Azoospermic) and 20Normozoospermic subjects .The anti-sperm antibody and testosterone levels were measuredby using Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA).Results: The Antisperm antibodies were positive in serum of normozoospermic, asthenozoospermic,oligozoospermic and azoospermic men respectively are about 10%, 5%, 20%,5%and in the total group was 10% positive. The ASA in seminal plasma of normozoospermicmen, asthenozoospermic men, oligozoospermic men and azoospermic men respectively are0%, 0%, 5%, 5% and in the total groups 2.5%.These findings lead to no possibility to makeclear correlations with the studied hormones. There was significant increase (P<0.05) in thelevels of testosterone in serum and seminal plasma in comparison between normozoospermicand infertile men subgroups. There was significant decrease (P<0.05) in the levels of progesteronein serum and seminal plasma in comparison between normozoospermic men andinfertile men subgroups, the highest levels were observed in asthenozoospermic subgroup.The study showed that 10 patients (12.5%) out of 80 patients showed a positive ASA positivein serum or seminal plasma of all groups. The result was considered positive if the value was≥60 RU / ml .On these basis and regarding that screening criteria the positive ASA groupshowed the association with the low levels of testosterone in both types of the samples(serumand seminal plasma), these results was exhibited a high significant difference when comparedwith negative ASA group.Conclusion: Determination of the relevance of the levels of testosterone and anti-sperm antibodiesin the serum and seminal plasma, which in turn is important to determine the type ofinfertility especially the immunological type.