Cellular immunity to sperm in infertile women.

To investigate further whether immunity to sperm contributes to some cases of infertility in women, the production of leukocyte inhibitory factor by blood mononuclear cells challenged with human sperm in vitro was measured in women with infertility associated with poor results of postcoital tests or long-term unexplained infertility. Five (36%) of 14 infertile patients but none of nine fertile volunteers responded significantly to sperm in this assay. No study subject had serum IgG or IgM antibodies to sperm detected. These data provide additional evidence consistent with the possibility that cellular immunity to sperm-specific antigen(s) functions in the primary pathogenesis of infertility in some women.