How are anti-sperm antibodies formed?

As the name implies, antisperm antibodies are antibodies against sperm. This happens when the immune system mistakenly identifies the sperm in a man's semen as a foreign invader, and triggers an immune response that creates antibodies to attack and destroy the sperm.
The phenomenon of anti-sperm antibodies is relatively rare. Both men and women can produce anti-sperm antibodies. Anti-sperm antibodies make it difficult for couples to have children.

In the male testicles, there is a blood-testicular barrier and strong binding complexes that help separate sperm and sperm degradation products from the body, separating the vas deferens and blood. Therefore, sperm will normally be completely isolated from the immune system.

For some reason, the blood-testicular barrier is damaged, causing sperm and sperm degradation products to appear in the blood, from which the body initiates immune reactions to produce antibodies to kill sperm .
Common causes of the formation of anti-sperm antibodies in men such as:
Genital tract infection Testicular damage after trauma, testicular biopsy or after surgery such as vasectomy Inflammation Prostate Cancer Testicular cancer A woman's body can also make sperm-killing antibodies if she has an allergic reaction to her partner's semen. At present, it is not clear why some women develop sperm-killing antibodies while others do not. Sperm in the female reproductive tract after intercourse is not responsible for the production of anti-sperm antibodies. Causes may be due to trauma to the vaginal mucosa during intercourse or due to the deposition of sperm in the digestive tract during oral sex. Some studies have shown that women whose partners have anti-sperm antibodies are more likely to develop anti-sperm antibodies as well. Women with antisperm antibodies react only with their partner's sperm, but not with other men's sperm.

If you and your wife have difficulty conceiving, you should go to a medical facility specializing in obstetrics. Your doctor may recommend that you have fertility tests, including an antisperm antibody test. For women, the test for antisperm antibodies can be done on a blood sample or a sample of cervical mucus. For men, this test is done on a semen or blood sample.

Currently, there is no specific treatment for anti-sperm antibodies. For the husband, the doctor may prescribe immunosuppressive drugs to reduce the body's immune response. This method will help men produce less sperm-killing antibodies, thereby increasing the chances of getting pregnant for the wife.
For the wife, the most commonly performed method is intrauterine insemination (IUI). This method will help sperm avoid contact with spermicidal antibodies found in the cervical mucus of women. Some other methods of assisted reproduction can also be performed such as: in vitro fertilization (IVF), conception by intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI),...

Besides doing anti-sperm antibody test, in order to accurately diagnose the cause, active status as well as evaluate male reproductive health at that time, it is necessary to combine with semen analysis test. and a male hormone factor test (with attention to male reproductive hormones).
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References: webmd.com, en.wikipedia.org