Studies on local immunity to sperm-dissolving of cervical mucus by use of bromelin with retention of antibody activity.

The complete dissolving of human cervical mucus was achieved with bromelin. The adequacy and the mildness of this procedure were studied by making both solutions and simple extracts of a number of mucus samples. Both types of preparation were tested for sperm antibody by our methods of agglutination and immobilization. The comparisons showed a high degree of concurrence between these two types, with the bromelin solutions showing positive results more often than the extracts. Other control tests showed that addition of bromelin did not perturb the antibody testing of positive and negative sera. We concluded that addition of bromelin, in a 1/3 volume, gives a quick, thorough and undamaged solution of cervical mucus, on which sperm antibody tests can be done with ease and reliability.