PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

P Lutjen

Publications and source records attributed to P Lutjen.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

Monoclonal antibody against a sperm antigen Mr 95,000 inhibits attachment of human spermatozoa to the zona pellucida.

A murine monoclonal antibody raised against hamster spermatozoa was found to cross-react with human spermatozoa. By immunofluorescence, the antigen was visualized over the equatorial segment of human sperm heads. In the presence of antibody, sperm binding to the zona pellucida of salt-stored human oocytes was significantly inhibited (P less than or equal to 0.005) compared with other antibodies or control preparations. Using SDS-PAGE of whole spermatozoa and membrane preparations followed by Western blot analysis, the antigen was identified as a determinant with a relative molecular weight of 95,000.

Antibodies, Monoclonal

Interaction between human cervical mucus and sperm surface antibodies.

The immunobead test was used to study the immunoglobulin class of antibodies on sperm before and after penetration through a microcolumn of cervical mucus. Sixteen men with positive sperm antibodies (positive sperm immobilization test) and sperm that penetrated cervical mucus in prior tests were selected for study. However, at the time of study, sperm from seven subjects could not be recovered from the microcolumn. The nine subjects from whom motile sperm were obtained after passage through the column had better sperm mucus penetration tests, lower proportions of sperm binding to anti-IgA immunobeads, and higher proportions of sperm with tail-tip-only binding. Sperm recovered after penetration through the mucus microcolumn displayed a greatly reduced binding to anti-IgA immunobeads in all nine subjects, whereas similar reductions in anti-IgG binding occurred only in four subjects. These results confirm that IgA and sperm-head-directed antibodies are more important than IgG and sperm tail-tip-directed antibodies in impairing sperm penetration of cervical mucus.

Antibodies

The establishment and maintenance of pregnancy using in vitro fertilization and embryo donation in a patient with primary ovarian failure.

Ovarian steroid replacement therapy in the ovariectomized ewe, given in the correct sequence to mimic endogenous steroid changes in the normal ovulatory cycle, allows the development of embryos transferred in utero. A similar type of sequential therapy was designed for steroid replacement in women with primary ovarian failure. This produces the histological changes in uterine endometrial morphology and plasma oestradiol and progesterone similar to those observed in the normal ovulatory cycle. We now report that in one of these women a donated oocyte, fertilized by her husband's spermatozoa and cultured to the two-cell stage in vitro, was transferred in utero, resulting in a normal pregnancy and the delivery of a healthy child. Oestrogen therapy was withdrawn at 12 weeks and progesterone at 19 weeks gestation. This technique allows the treatment of human infertility due to primary ovarian failure.

Embryo Transfer