Biphasic production of antisperm autoantibodies follow vasectomy of the Lewis rat.

Temporal changes in the specificity of post-vasectomy autoantibodies to SDS-PAGE separated sperm antigens were investigated in Lewis rats. Sera were obtained from nine vasectomized animals prior to vasectomy, every two weeks for 14 weeks, and less frequently thereafter, up to 41 weeks. Changes in antisperm autoantibodies over time were assessed by ELISA and western blot assay and compared to antisperm isoantiserum and normal Lewis rat serum. A "biphasic" pattern of autoantibody production over time was observed in a majority of individuals. This pattern was characterized by early phase autoantibodies, produced between 0 and 6 weeks after vasectomy, which bound antigens at the stacking, separating and ionic fronts and by late phase autoantibodies, produced after 4 weeks following vasectomy which bound antigens at 86, 63, 52, 43, 31 and 26 kDa. Previous work suggested that some high molecular weight autoantigens were disulfide-bonded polymers of the polypeptides at 86, 63, and 43 kba (Handley, et al., 1988). Indirect immunofluorescence with monospecific isoantisera to the 86 kDa autoantigen suggested that its corresponding high molecular weight polymer was located in the tail of cauda epididymal spermatozoa. This polymer possessed several characteristics of T cell independent autoantigens. These data show a change in the specificity of autoantibodies produced over time after vasectomy which may reflect a shift from T cell independent to T cell dependent autoantibody production by the Lewis rat.