Cuppett Vanessa A, Sikka Suresh C, Naz Rajesh K
Reproductive Immunology and Molecular Biology Lab, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Department of Urology, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Front Biosci (Elite Ed). 2017 Mar 1;9(2):258-265. doi: 10.2741/e800.
Immunoinfertility due to antisperm antibodies and semen hyperviscosity are among major causes of male infertility. Although the modulation of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) has been investigated in prostate abnormalities, its role and the effect of its dysfunction in male fertility/infertility have not been extensively examined. The present study was conducted to examine the presence of PSA antibodies locally in the seminal plasma of men having immunoinfertility and semen hyperviscosity. Seminal plasma samples from immunoinfertile men (n=25), men with hyperviscous semen (n=25), and normal men (n=24) were collected and analyzed for immunoreactivity with PSA in ELISA and Western blot. In the immunoinfertile group, seminal plasma from 20% of men reacted positively with PSA. In the hyperviscous group, seminal plasma from 28% of men reacted positively with PSA. None (0%) of the seminal plasma from the normal group showed immunoreactivity to PSA. This is the first study ever to indicate the presence of PSA antibodies in semen of men having immunoinfertility or hyperviscosity. These findings may have clinical significance in the specific diagnosis and treatment of infertility in men and contraceptive vaccine development.
抗精子抗体和精液黏稠度高所致的免疫性不育是男性不育的主要原因。尽管已对前列腺特异性抗原（PSA）在前列腺异常中的调节作用进行了研究，但其在男性生育力/不育中的作用及其功能障碍的影响尚未得到广泛研究。本研究旨在检测患有免疫性不育和精液黏稠度高的男性精浆中是否存在PSA抗体。收集了免疫性不育男性（n = 25）、精液黏稠男性（n = 25）和正常男性（n = 24）的精浆样本，并通过酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）和蛋白质印迹法分析其与PSA的免疫反应性。在免疫性不育组中，20%的男性精浆与PSA反应呈阳性。在精液黏稠组中，28%的男性精浆与PSA反应呈阳性。正常组的精浆均未（0%）显示出与PSA的免疫反应性。这是首次表明患有免疫性不育或精液黏稠度高的男性精液中存在PSA抗体的研究。这些发现可能对男性不育的特异性诊断和治疗以及避孕疫苗的开发具有临床意义。
