From what links do anti-sperm antibodies affect fertility?From what links do anti-sperm antibodies affect fertility?From what links do anti-sperm antibodies affect fertility?
Current research suggests that anti-sperm antibodies can affect reproduction from multiple links:
1.Accelerate the elimination of sperm in the female reproductive tract: the attachment of immunoglobulins to the surface of sperm can play the role of opson, mediate phagocytic cells with immunoglobulin receptors on the surface, and remove sperm entering the mucosal surface of the reproductive tract, so that the number of sperm decreases rapidly, so as to affect fertilization.
2.Interference with fertilization: The fertilization process begins with the recognition between the sperm and the zona pellucida on the surface of the egg cell, and the anti-sperm antibodies combined with the egg cell recognition molecule or adjacent molecules in the sperm head can interfere with the recognition process and the binding of the sperm to the egg cell membrane through spatial obstruction.
3.Interfere with the development of the zygote: The zygote combines into a zygote and can still carry sperm antibodies on its surface, thus interfering with the normal metabolism and development of the zygote.
4.Interfere with sperm metabolism, activation and capacitation: Sperm must mature in the female reproductive tract in order to be able to fertilize the egg under natural conditions. Anti-sperm antibodies can affect sperm capacitation, affect sperm and egg zona pellucida binding and sperm acrosome response.
5.Interfere with the penetration of cervical mucus by sperm: cervical mucus contains receptors for mucin networks and immunoglobulin crystal fragments, and sperm with immunoglobulins on the surface interact with each other as they pass through the cervical mucus, hindering the passage of sperm.
Sperm antibodies interfere with fertility
Antibodies against the sperm head can interfere with sperm capacitation and cenule responses.
Cytotoxic antibodies inhibit sperm motility with the participation of complement and cause sperm cell membrane damage and sperm death, and antibodies against the sperm tail trunk inhibit sperm motility.
The Fc segment of the anti-sperm antibody binds to the cervical mucus glycoprotein and interferes with the sperm crossing the ovulatory cervical mucus.
The opsonistic effect of anti-sperm antibodies enhances the phagocytosis of spermatozoa by local phagocytic cells of the reproductive tract.
Antibodies against the sperm head prevent sperm from binding to the zona pellucida and egg cell membrane, inhibiting fertilization.
Clinical significance of anti-egg antibodies
1. Positive anti-zona pellucida antibody is found clinically, and it is the cause of infertility in most women with unknown causes.
2. Researchers have confirmed that many infertile women have zona pellucida antibodies in the examination serum.
3. Zona pellucida can be used as a foreign body to stimulate the body to produce an immune response.
4. When the body is stimulated by antigens that cross-antigenize with the zona pellucida, or when various geners denature the zona pellucida antigen, it leads to the dominant recognition of helper T cells in the body, and finally the body produces damaging anti-zona pellucida immunity, which reduces fertility.