Inhibition of human sperm-zona pellucida and sperm-oolemma binding by antisperm antibodies.

The results of this preliminary investigation suggest that antisperm antibodies interfere predominantly with sperm-zona pellucida binding. The observation of similar numbers of control (Ab-) and test (Ab+) sperm bound to the oolemma implies that the antibody-mediated inhibition of capacitation, acrosome reaction, or oolemma binding may not be major causes of failed fertilization with sperm autoimmunity. However, only seven patients were studied, and further investigation with larger numbers of subjects are required.