Frequency of Antisperm Antibodies in Infertile Women

BACKGROUND Infertility is one of the common problems seen in couples of reproductive age. Presence of antisperm antibodies in semen and serum are amongst the causes of immunoinfertility. This study was performed to determine antisperm antibodies in cervicovaginal secretions and serum of infertile women and also measure serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM and IgA). METHODS The study consisted of 45 infertile women consulting the Kammal El-Sammrari Hospital for infertility from 2008 to 2009 and the control group consisted of 30 fertile women. Serum levels of immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA and IgM) were measured in the participants using single radial immune diffusion. Antisperm antibodies (ASAs) were detected in the serum of both infertile and control groups using indirect immune fluorescence test. ASAs were also detected in cervicovaginal secretion using direct sperm agglutination test in both infertile and control groups. RESULTS Antisperm antibodies were found in the cervicovaginal secretions (62.2%) and sera (64.4%) of infertile women which were significantly higher (p <0.001) than those of the control group (3.3% and 3.3% respectively). There was a significant increase (p <0.001) in serum levels of IgG and IgA of infertile women (16.2 and 3.25 g/L respectively) compared with the healthy control group (7 and 1.2 g/L). CONCLUSION Humoral immune response and antisperm antibodies may contribute to reproductive failure in couples of reproductive age.