Immune Chemistry of ASA
Immune chemistry of ASA encompasses all the types of antisperm antibody reactions in humans that are ontogenically driven by (a) ‘natural’ antibodies, (b) pre-pubertally derived ASA due to testicular failure, (c) adult ASA in males and females, and (d) ca
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Immune Chemistry of ASA Maciej Kurpisz, Marzena Kamieniczna, and Karolina Nowicka-Bauer
Abstract
Immune chemistry of ASA encompasses all the types of antisperm antibody reactions in humans that are ontogenically driven by (a) ‘natural’ antibodies, (b) pre-pubertally derived ASA due to testicular failure, (c) adult ASA in males and females, and (d) carbohydrate-mediated epitopes. Both sexes (with exception of boys before puberty) present active immune tolerance to male gametes which allows to resume a natural intercourse as well as permanent gamete differentiation in spermatogenesis. ‘Natural’ antibodies are developed as a part of immune history of the individual but they are also essential elements of innate immunity in both sexes. ASA developed before puberty are well characterized by proteomic approach and deserve more attention. ASA reactions in males and females are fairly well studied while carbohydrate-mediated chemistry of ASA activity is still a complex issue under study.
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Introduction
Antisperm (ASA) antibodies can be recognized as a strange immunological phenomenon. First of all, the immune response to spermatozoa is rarely sperm-specific; on the other hand, it cannot be also considered as a part of polyorgan type of
M. Kurpisz (*) • M. Kamieniczna Department of Reproductive Biology and Stem Cells, Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszyńska 32, Poznan 60-479, Poland e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] K. Nowicka-Bauer Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Strzeszynska 32, Poznan 60-479, Poland e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 W.K.H. Krause, R.K. Naz (eds.), Immune Infertility, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40788-3_6
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reaction since rarely such cross-reactivity was ever found. In the older literature, ASA were occasionally linked to react with kidney (rabbit) or thyroid (beagle dog); however, such cross-reactions were not generally confirmed in mammals as long as sperm antigens were not enhanced during vaccinations in female immunocontraceptive trials where it was found the molecular similarity of sperm (PH20) protein to kidney antigens [25]. Furthermore, antisperm antibody reaction is different in ontogenesis since only during puberty sperm antigens seem to appear. ASA can be then considered as the enhancement of naturally existing ‘natural’ antibodies. Since the onset of puberty we may treat ASA as the mature response to gametes of adult individuals which may interfere with infertility. Discrepancy of ASA reactions, however, still exists between female and male subjects as well as regarding its prepubertal phenomenon. This brings us to the serious question on a nature of ASA, are they unique or too common (from immunological point of view), why are they so rarely sperm-specific, are they mostly mediated through the carbohydrate moieties? The first subdivision in their chemistry of reaction (antigenic epitopes) would be therefore ontogenically based on (a) circu
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