Sperm Physiological Response to Female Serum-Potential New Insights into the Reproductive Incompatibility Diagnostics

Area of Science:

• Reproductive biology
• Immunogenetics

Background:

• Infertility is often attributed solely to pathological factors in males or females.
• Emerging evidence suggests reproductive incompatibility between partners contributes to reproductive failure.
• Female reproductive secretions, such as follicular fluid (FF), may mediate gamete-level mate choice, selecting against incompatible sperm.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if sperm's physiological response to female serum, in the presence of FF, can indicate male-female reproductive compatibility.
• To explore potential diagnostic markers for human reproductive incompatibility.

Main Methods:

• A full-factorial experimental design was employed.
• Sperm from 10 males were incubated with follicular fluid (FF) and serum from 6 healthy females.
• Sperm motility and viability were assessed.
• Male human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and female anti-HLA antibodies were identified.

Main Results:

• Sperm motility and viability showed similar patterns across both biofluids (FF and serum).
• Sperm response to female serum accurately predicted male-female compatibility in 70% of males tested.
• No significant association was found between sperm traits and the number of HLA allele-antibody matches.

Conclusions:

• Sperm physiological responses to female reproductive fluids offer a potential indicator of male-female reproductive compatibility.
• These findings may lead to novel diagnostic tests for reproductive incompatibility.
• This research could advance infertility diagnostics and treatment strategies.