1Division of Endocrinology, Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, (U.P.), India.
3Department of Biochemistry, Dr. R.M.L. Avadh University, Faizabad, (U.P.), India.
2Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Chattrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University, Lucknow, (U.P.), India.
Among couples of reproductive age, about 10% are involuntarily infertile. Of such couples, about 30–50% are infertile because of male reproductive dysfunctions. Complete understanding of the mechanism behind immunologic infertility, diagnosis and treatment, depends on knowledge of the identities of specific sperm antigens capable of eliciting the production of functionally relevant sperm antibodies. This study demonstrates the significance of a 33kDa glycoprotein (MEF3) of rhesus monkey in human infertility by comparing the level of this protein on the spermatozoa of idiopathic infertile males with the amount of 33kDa associated with the spermatozoa of normal men by approaches using Dot-ELISA, western blotting, immunoflourescence localization, human sperm penetration in zona-free hamster eggs and flow cytometric analysis. The positive relationship between the protein expression and sperm quality cements the hypothesis that this protein will be of immense use in identifying and explaining some of the cases of infertility.
Human sperm, Rhesus monkey, Glycoprotein, Infertility
