Development of a vaccine(s) based on sperm antigens represents a promising approach for contraception. The utility of an antigen in immunocontraception is contingent upon its testis/sperm specificity and involvement in spermatogenesis and/or fertilization. The aim of the present article is to review the information regarding the proteins that have been reported to be testis/sperm-specific and m...

What does the clinician need from an andrology laboratory? The andrology laboratory is vital for the accurate diagnosis and treatment of male factor infertility, which is contributory in 50% of infertile couples. While there are some diagnostic tests of limited clinical utility, many tests can be useful in specific clinical settings. In this chapter, we will review the basic interpretation of t...

Clinically, antibodies against sperm are found in 3% to 12% of men who undergo evaluation for infertility and can be found in the serum, seminal plasma or sperm-bound. As antibodies in the serum cannot logistically bind to sperm unless they transudate into semen, these immunoglobulins are considered clinically less important than sperm-bound antibodies. The presence of anti-sperm antibodies in ...

Cryptorchidism, the failure of one or both testes to descend into the scrotum prenatally, occurs in 2.4%-5% of newborns. Many of these testes will descend spontaneously shortly after birth, but ~23% will remain undescended unless surgery is performed. Bilaterally cryptorchid men have a six times greater risk of being infertile when compared with unilaterally cryptorchid men and the general male...

Possible causes of subfertility or infertility in men are still poorly defined, but one important category may be elevated level of antisperm antibodies (ASA) caused by infective and/or autoimmune diseases, as well as injuries of male reproductive system. In this study, blood sera from 45 infertile men of different age with ASA positive ELISA test were examined for the serum level of ASA before...