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Studies on Organ Specificity

XIX. Antigenic Specificity of Seminal Plasma and the Formation of Autoantibodies¹

From the Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, and Veterans Administration Hospital, Buffalo, New York

Abstract

Rabbits were immunized with three types of rabbit semen preparation, incorporated into complete Freund's adjuvant. These were 1) epididymis extract (primarily as a source of sperm cells), 2) whole semen (ejaculate), and 3) seminal plasma from this semen. The injection of epididymis produced no detectable antibody response, but the other two preparations did stimulate antibody production. These were detected both by tanned cell hemagglutination and by gel diffusion. The major antibody to seminal plasma was shown to be an autoantibody, and the antigen was present only in seminal plasma and extracts of the accessory glands of reproduction. The total content of antigen in seminal plasma was higher than that in accessory extract of similar protein concentration by about 8-fold. Gel diffusion studies revealed two lines of precipitation, indicating two antigens of seminal plasma that are capable of stimulating the production of autoantibodies. Either one or both antibodies might be detected, depending on the individual rabbit. However, only one of these antigens is shared with the accessory glands. The other antigen seems to be specific for seminal plasma.

Footnotes

This work was supported in part by research grants CA-02357 and CA-07744 from the National Cancer Institute, United States Public Health Service, Bethesda, Maryland. A preliminary report was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, Chicago, Illinois, April, 1967 (1).

² Recipient of a Research Career Award, (K6-AI-1377) from the United States Public Health Service, Bethesda, Maryland.

Present address: Department of Microbiology, New York Medical College, New York, New York.