Clinical significance of sperm antibodies in infertility

Sperm antibody (AB) titers, determined by passive hemagglutination and cytotoxicity assays, were found to be elevated in 62 males and 46 females of 103 couples with primary infertility; 15 males and 12 females of 25 couples with secondary infertility; 10 males and 8 females of 18 couples with histories of repeated abortion; 21 males and 17 females of 25 couples in which the husband had a history of prostatitis; and 29 males and 17 females of 38 couples in which the husband had oligospermia. Of the couples in which one or both partners had elevated sperm AB titers, only 4 achieved pregnancy: 3 from the group with secondary infertility, all of which ended in spontaneous abortions, and 1 in which the husband was oligospermic. This suggests an etiologic role of sperm immunity in infertility. Immunosuppressive treatment of autoimmune males with prednisone (15 mg/day for 3 weeks to 6 months) resulted in significant decreases in AB titers. Pregnancies were achieved by 9 of 25 couples after treatment (36%). The observed increase in pregnancy rate in the prednisone-treated versus untreated groups of couples with elevated sperm AB titers was significant (P less than 0.02).