Immunoinfertility: a case study with implications for immunocontraception.

A detailed case history was compiled on a couple who have had primary infertility for more than 20 years. The history and further laboratory investigations indicated that the infertility was caused by high-titre sperm antibodies in the female. The antibodies blocked sperm-zona binding and reacted with a prominent band at 65 kD in Western blots. Preliminary studies indicate that a subset of the patient's antibodies are specific for a unique protein sequence expressed by a cDNA testis library. This antigen may have potential for immunocontraceptive vaccine development.