Characterization of a monoclonal antibody to a human intra-acrosomal antigen that inhibits fertilization

Among monoclonal antibodies (mAb) selected after the immunization of mice with human ejaculated spermatozoa, mAb I9G9 (IgG1 kappa) was found by immunoperoxidase staining to label most of the acrosome of human spermatozoa permeabilized with methanol-acetone. The antigen was poorly expressed on the surface of fresh ejaculated sperm, but was detectable on most viable sperm after 5-h incubation in medium containing human serum albumin (HSA) followed by 30-min incubation with the calcium ionophore A23187. This treatment resulted in acrosomal loss. Immunoelectron microscopy labeling with I9G9 mAb localized the antigen within the acrosome. Immunocytochemistry on testis sections showed that antigen was located in the round spermatids within the adluminal compartment of the seminiferous epithelium. Western blotting of sperm extract proteins showed that sperm intra-acrosomal (SIAA) recognized by I9G9 mAb had a polymorphism of immunogenic peptides from 16 to 35 kDa. Most of the antigenic peptides possessed an isoelectric point of approximately 5. When spermatozoa were treated with a series of protease inhibitors, the polymorphism of immunogenic peptides was reduced, suggesting that the multiple form of the antigen was due, at least in part, to proteolytic processing. In the testis, only a single peptide band of 35 kDa was detected with mAb I9G9. Studies of human tissue specificity by Western blotting showed that the epitope recognized by I9G9 mAb was present solely in ejaculated spermatozoa and the testis. I9G9 mAb did not agglutinate or immobilize sperm but inhibited the penetration of zona-free hamster ova by human sperm.