Biomedical subjects

Alina Domagała

Publications and source records attributed to Alina Domagała.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Immunoprecipitation of sperm and somatic antigens with antibodies from sera of sperm-sensitized and anti-sperm antibody-free individuals.

PROBLEM: Immune infertility may result from the presence of anti-sperm antibodies (ASA) in sera of sensitized individuals or in their genito-urinary millieu. According to some authors, sera of pre-pubertal boys with genital disorders may contain ASA, too. When identified and characterized, sperm antigenic components can be employed for diagnostic and/or for immunocontraceptive purposes. METHOD OF STUDY: Sperm auto- and isoimmune reactive surface antigens were identified by means of immunoprecipitation. Comparative immunoprecipitations of somatic antigens by using antibodies, contained in polyclonal sera of fertile and (immunologically) infertile adults as well as pre-pubertal boys with gonadal failures were performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Antibodies contained in sera of the all studied populations reacted with a number of sperm as well as somatic antigens. However, we distinguished a panel of antigens localized exclusively on the surface of sperm cells, reacting with ASA positive sera (in the range of molecular weight between 15 and 115 kDa), some of them seem to present novel entities as can be judged by the molecular weight.

Antibodies↗

PubMed2003

Molecular targets for immunocontraception.

Effective contraception is necessary in countries where limiting population growth has become a public policy imperative. The main antigenic targets for contraceptive vaccine development can be listed as following: 1) sperm antigens, 2) zona pellucida antigens, 3) gonadotrophin-releasing hormone, 4) chorionic gonadotrophin, 5) other protein/peptide hormones (follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone), and 6) gonadal steroid hormones. New techniques, such as the application of monoclonal antibodies, hybridoma and DNA recombinant technologies, have become useful in search for contraceptive candidates. Current state of development of contraceptive vaccines based on specific antigenic targets and trials in animal/human models are presented in this article.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

The frequency of antisperm antibodies in infertile couples--a Polish pilot study.

BACKGROUND: One of every four Polish married couples is infertile. Numerous factors may contribute to the lack of conception in these couples, one of which may be the presence of antisperm antibodies in semen, cervical mucus and serum in infertile individuals. Thus immunological examinations of these individuals should be standard diagnostic practice. In the present paper we studied the frequency of antisperm antibodies among infertile Polish couples. MATERIAL/METHODS: Serum samples from infertile women (n=194) and men (n=186) were tested by means of the indirect immunobead-binding test. Also, cervical mucus samples obtained from 155 women were investigated using the same test. Semen samples from 202 men were tested with the direct immunobead-binding test. RESULTS: 4.1% of the serum samples from infertile women were positive for antisperm antibodies, as well as 7% of the serum samples from infertile men, and 3.2% of the cervical mucus samples. 10.4% of the samples had spermatozoa-coated antibodies. In the respective control samples, the immunobead-binding test did not reveal any positive cases when given the applied 'cut-off' values. CONCLUSIONS: This preliminary report attempts to determine for the first time the frequency of antisperm antibodies in a Polish population of infertile married couples.

Adult↗