What are the anti-sperm antibodies?

  Anti-sperm antibodies are substances produced by the body against sperm, and can be produced by both men and women. In men, during spermatogenesis, the antigens on the surface of the sperm are isolated from the immune system due to the protective effect of the blood-testis barrier in the testis, and thus the sperm are in an “immune immune immune” state in the male body. If sperm antigens are exposed due to radiation injury, reproductive tract infection, testicular trauma or tissue destruction, the body produces anti-sperm antibodies, resulting in a “flooding of the temple”. For women, sperm and seminal plasma components are foreign substances, and if there is inflammation in the female reproductive tract, mucosal damage and other unfavorable factors, anti-sperm antibodies can also be produced. The presence of antisperm antibodies can cause a decrease in sperm viability, interfere with the union of sperm and egg, cause abnormal early embryonic development, and cause immune infertility. Anti-sperm antibodies are examined in concert with semen volume, sperm count, sperm motility, sperm morphology and other reproductive functions to effectively determine male fertility.  Anti-sperm antibodies are temporary immunity, and the titer of antibodies will gradually decrease until they disappear after continuous stimulation away from the antigen. Thus, women with anti-sperm antibodies can first use condom contraception to remove the woman from contact with sperm, which usually takes about six months. For men with positive anti-sperm antibodies, the primary disease is treated first, in addition to which oral small doses of steroid hormones can be combined to suppress the immune response. Chinese medicine can be used in the treatment of immune infertility by nourishing the yin and tonifying the kidneys and clearing heat and detoxifying the toxins, which also has better results. Since the anti-sperm antibodies in seminal plasma are generally secreted by the accessory gonads and only come into contact with sperm during ejaculation, sperm washing immediately after ejaculation can remove some of the anti-sperm antibodies, and artificial insemination with the washed sperm is expected to result in pregnancy in the female partner.