SPERMATOTOXIC, SPERMAGGLUTINATING AND CYTOTOXIC ACTIVITIES OF GUINEA-PIG AUTOANTIBODIES TO SPERM AUTOANTIGEN T

Abstract

Summary. Sera from guinea-pigs immunized with their own spermatozoa or with purified preparations of three different guinea-pig sperm autoantigens (S, P and T) were tested for their spermatotoxic and cytotoxic (towards immature sperm cells) properties in the presence of complement, as well as for their spermagglutinating properties. Autoimmune and anti-T sera exhibited the three properties with a high degree of tridimensional correlation. Anti-S and anti-P sera did not exhibit any of the three properties. The three properties could be specifically absorbed by T but not by S or P autoantigens. While P/anti-P and T/anti-T are both complement-fixing systems, only T is present at the cell surface and only anti-T will fix on living sperm cells. The biological and immunopathological consequences of the preceding results are discussed in relation to the ability of each one of the three sperm autoantigens to induce an autoimmune aspermatogenic orchitis.