The content of immunomodulatory glycoepitopes in seminal plasma glycoproteins of fertile and infertile men.

According to a concept of fetoembryonic defence, protein-carbohydrate interaction may be involved in the regulation of maternal immunity that prevents rejection of allograft spermatozoa, embryo and fetus. In the present study we focussed on the evaluation of the expression of glycoepitopes that may be of crucial importance in this process: LewisY (LeY) and LewisX (LeX) as well as terminal sialylation. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulphate was used to separate seminal plasma samples of fertile (n=10) and infertile (n=103) men; these were then probed with lectins specific to fucose (Lotus tetragonolobus agglutinin and Ulex europaeus agglutinin) and sialic acid (Sambucus nigra agglutinin and Maackia amurensis agglutinin).