PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

T Hjort

Publications and source records attributed to T Hjort.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Sperm agglutinins in seminal plasma and serum after vasectomy: correlation between immunological and clinical findings.

The development of sperm agglutinins in serum and seminal plasma in relation to vasectomy was studied in forty-seven men by testing samples taken before vasectomy and on five occasions during the first year after vasectomy. Thirty additional patients were tested only 1 year after vasectomy. One year after vasectomy, sperm agglutinins in the serum in titres from 4 to about 4000 had developed in 62% of the entire group, while antibodies in the seminal fluid detectable by the gelatin agglutination test were present in only 4% of the group, and apart from on unusual case the titres were low here (either 4 or 8). Analysis of the modes of agglutination revealed changing patterns in several patients during the observation period, with a predominance of tail agglutinins after 1 year. In some cases, mixed agglutination was seen with serum but pure tail-to-tail agglutination with seminal plasma. The total number of spermatozoa in a pre-vasectomy ejaculate was found to be correlated with an early immune response and with the titre values after 1 year. The group of patients in whom agglutinins had developed 1 year after vasectomy were found to have significantly larger nodules at the sites of operation than those without sperm agglutinins.

Agglutinins↗

Sperm antibodies in serum and seminal plasma.

The relation between sperm antibodies (agglutinins and IF-antibodies) in serum and seminal plasma was studied in three selected groups of male partners in infertile couples with respect to specificity, concentrations and immunoglobulin classes. Agglutinins were found in seminal plasma only when they were also present in serum, but there was no strict correlation between the titres in seminal plasma and serum although serum titres were always the higher ones. However, in cases with tail-to-tail agglutinins a difference of more than 2 fourfold steps between the titres was never found; spontaneous agglutination in the ejaculate generally occurred when the seminal plasma titre was 64 or more, and in 6 patients with high seminal plasma titres IgA was detected in the midpiece region of ejaculated spermatozoa. In contrast, head-to-head agglutinins were found in seminal plasma in only one of 3 patients with these agglutinins in serum, and only in a low titre. Absorption of IgG of IgG with protein-A-producing Staphylococcus aureus showed that tail-to-tail agglutinins in serum were IgG antibodies, whereas they could be characterized as "non-IgA-in seminal plasma, suggesting a local production of these antibodies. IF-antibodies were rarely found in seminal plasma and seemed to be of little significance in relation to infertility in men.

Adult↗

Microtechnique for simultaneous determination of immobilizing and cytotoxic sperm antibodies. Methodological and clinical studies.

A microtechnique for simultaneous detection of immobilizing and cyctotoxic sperm antibodies was elaborated according to the principles of Terasaki and McClelland. The technique was found reproducible, easy to perform and thus suitable for large scale examinations. The test includes determination of titres for immobilizing and cytotoxic effects and provides at the same time an opportunity to observe both complement-dependent and independent activities. Furthermore, agglutination patterns can easily be recorded. The requirement of only small volumes of test samples makes the test suitable also in testing secretions from the genital tract. In these cases, inclusion of a control for anticomplementary activity of the sample is advisable. In serum from 288 men from infertile couples simultaneous occurence of immobilizing and cytotoxic antibodies was observed in eight cases; all of them also had sperm-agglutinins in serum. In two of these cases, immobilizing and, in one case, cytotoxic activity was revealed in seminal plasma using undiluted samples. Patients with negative findings in serum also revealed negative findings in seminal plasma. Immobilizing and cytotoxic antibodies were not disclosed in serum from 247 women from infertile couples.

Agglutination Tests↗

Is low titre agglutination seen when testing male sera for antisperm antibodies an immunological phenomenon?

The gelatin agglutination test (GAT) and the tray slide agglutination test (TAT) for antisperm antibodies may yield equivocal titres in a number of cases when sera from infertile men are tested. The question is whether these equivocal titres represent true immunological activity or whether other factors such as beta-spermagglutinins are responsible. The sera from 24 infertile men with moderate or equivocal titres were tested using the TAT after absorption with protein A-producing staphylococci to remove IgG. Only two of the 24 sera showed activity which may have been due to beta-spermagglutinins; the majority of the sera showed no activity following absorption. These results mean that even at low titres the GAT and TAT are detecting immunological agglutination when male sera are tested and by inference that antisperm antibodies in male sera only become clinically significant at higher titres, as it is well known that men may father children in the presence of lower or equivocal serum GAT or TAT titres.

Absorption↗

Nonspermatozoal cells in semen: relationship to other semen parameters and fertility status of the couple.

In semen samples from 94 men from infertile couples and 42 control patients proven to be fertile the occurrence of different kinds of nonspermatozoal cells (NSC) was examined. The findings were evaluated in relation to other seminal parameters and to the fertility status of the couple. The ratios of NSC to sperm and primary spermatocytes to spermatids revealed increasing values with decreasing sperm counts. Especially in a group where the semen samples contained > or = 6 x 10(6) motile sperm per mL and no infertility factor was detectable in the woman, the concentration of leukocytes was high, with three of eight patients having > or = 10(6) leukocytes per mL. A high proportion of abnormal sperm seemed to occur more frequently where the cause of infertility could be found in the man. A high number of leukocytes was neither significantly associated to an increased proportion of abnormal sperm nor to sperm motility evaluated by recording the percentage of motile sperm and the 1-h migration distance in sodium hyaluronate medium. No correlation between concentration of lymphocytes and presence of antisperm antibodies in seminal plasma was detectable.

Adult↗