Reproductive immunology: relevance to infertility practice.

Both, men and women can develop antisperm antibodies as the response to numerous factors, however immune-mediated infertility is a relative condition, i.e. may reduce but not totally prevent fertility. Different techniques can detect antisperm antibodies and show how these antibodies may interfere with fertilization process. To overcome immune-mediated infertility, the immunosuppressive therapy and in vitro treatment of antibody-coated sperm cells including in vitro fertilization have been proposed.