An Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for the Detection and Quantitation of Antisperm Antibodies

Several recent comparative investigations using various assays to detect and quantitate levels of antibody to human spermatozoa have produced widely varying results. In an attempt to reduce test variability, an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was devised to measure antisperm antibodies. A standardized protocol was adapted employing sperm adsorption to polystyrene microtiter plates, at a density of 10(5) sperm per well, serum and enzyme-conjugate incubation conditions at 37 degrees C for 60 min, and three ten-minute washes between incubations, using phosphate-buffered saline containing Tween-20. Using antihuman sperm antisera generated in rabbits, the ELISA was shown to yield significantly detectable antibody at dilutions of 1/16,384. The ELISA demonstrated approximately 89% reproducibility (ie, 100% minus the coefficient of variation) for an "intraassay" study wherein 300 determinations were performed on the same day on sperm from ten donors. However, when sperm from one donor were used in 30 determinations during ten assays over a six-month period, "interassay" reproducibility was approximately 51%. The ELISA was compared with macroagglutination, microagglutination, and immobilization tests, using rabbit antisperm serum and human sera from vasectomized males. Results of this study indicated that the ELISA was more sensitive, less subjective, and easier to perform than these other commonly used techniques.