Objectives

To explore the clinical application of anti-human seminal plasma phospholipase A2 (PLA2) monoclonal antibody (McAb) for male infertility.

Methods

Enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA), immunocytochemistry (ICC), as well as flow cytometry (FCM) analysis were established using two strains anti-human seminal plasma PLA2 McAb prepared by our laboratory to detect the PLA2 content in human seminal plasma and the anterior head region of spermatozoa, respectively. Then the PLA2 content in male infertile patients were compared with that in normal control with fertility. The seminal routine analysis was performed by computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA).

Results

The PLA2 content of infertile groups were (31.13+/-14.49) ng/ml in azoospermic patients,(17.71+/-12.45) ng/ml in oligospermic patients and (16.46+/-11.31) ng/ml in patients with normal sperm density, which were all higher than that of normal controls [(8.09+/-3.15) ng/ml, P< 0.01]; There was significantly negative correlation between PLA2 content in seminal plasma and sperm density (r=-0.602, P< 0.05), while there was insignificant correlation between PLA2 and sperm motility or percentage of motility. The PLA2 content in the anterior head region of spermatozoon of male infertile groups was significantly lower than that of normal controls by ICC and FCM (P< 0.01).

Conclusions

PLA2 in human seminal plasma is closely related to male fertility, and the PLA2 deficiency in the head of spermatozoa may be one of the reasons causing male infertility. The methods detecting PLA2 content in seminal plasma and the head of spermatozoa can provide powerful evidences for exploring the mechanism of male infertility.