Monoclonal Antibody to a Human Germ Cell Membrane Glycoprotein That Inhibits Fertilization

Abstract

A monoclonal antibody to an antigen in the human germ cell membrane did not agglutinate or immobilize sperm but inhibited binding and penetration of zona-free hamster ova by human sperm and blocked murine fertilization in vitro. The antibody, of the 2a subclass of immunoglobulin G, was germ cell-specific but not species-specific. It recognized a single antigen of 23 kilodaltons that has been isolated from human germ cells. This fertilization antigen, located on the postacrosome, midpiece, and tail of human sperm, is a glycoprotein of testicular origin associated with some types of human involuntary immunoinfertility .