Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1978 Aug;33(2):252–260.

Studies on the immunogenicity of protamines in humans and experimental animals by means of a micro-complement fixation test.

T Samuel, A H Kolk, P Rümke
PMCID: PMC1537563  PMID: 102475

Abstract

A complement fixation study with human, monkey and rabbit sera, using purified sperm nuclear basic proteins as antigens, led to the following conclusions. (1) Protamines, the sperm-specific basic nuclear proteins, may be immunogenic in mammalians. (2) Antibodies detected in the indirect immunofluorescence test on human swollen sperm heads in sera from infertile and vasectomized men, are directed primarily against human protamines. (3) The results obtained suggested that differences in the immunization site and/or in the configuration of the immunizing protamine, may lead to the formation of antibodies directed against different antigenic determinants. Autoimmunity to protamines, following vasectomy or in infertile men, is accompanied by the formation of antibodies cross-reacting with common antigenic determinants present in protamines of other species. Induction of immunity to protamines by means of immunization with protamines-RNA complexes (in rabbits), or protamine-insulin complexes (in humans), leads to the formation of antibodies reacting more specifically with the immunizing protamine, showing only slight cross-reaction with other protamines. (4) The histone-like fraction present in mature human spermatozoa is composed mainly of histone fraction H2B.

Full text

PDF
252

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Calvin H. I. Comparative analysis of the nuclear basic proteins in rat, human, guinea pig, mouse and rabbit spermatozoa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976 Jun 15;434(2):377–389. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(76)90229-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Coelingh J. P., Rozijn T. H., Monfoort C. H. Isolation and partial characterization of a basic protein from bovine sperm heads. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1969;188(2):353–356. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(69)90091-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. DALY M. M., MIRSKY A. E., RIS H. The amino acid composition and some properties of histones. J Gen Physiol. 1951 Mar 20;34(4):439–450. doi: 10.1085/jgp.34.4.439. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Kistler W. S., Geroch M. E., Williams-Ashman H. G. Specific basic proteins from mammalian testes. Isolation and properties of small basic proteins from rat testes and epididymal spermatozoa. J Biol Chem. 1973 Jul 10;248(13):4532–4543. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kistler W. S., Keim P. S., Heinrikson R. L. Partial structural analysis of the basic chromosomal protein of rat spermatozoa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976 Apr 14;427(2):752–757. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(76)90220-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kolk A. H., Samuel T. Isolation, chemical and immunological characterization of two strongly basic nuclear proteins from human spermatozoa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1975 Jun 26;393(2):307–319. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(75)90057-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Monfoort C. H., Schiphof R., Roxijn T. H., Steyn-Parvè E. P. Amino acid composition and carboxyl-terminal structure of some basic chromosomal proteins of mammalian spermatozoa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1973 Sep 21;322(1):173–177. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(73)90189-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Pongsawasdi P., Svasti J. The heterogeneity of the protamines from human spermatozoa. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976 Jun 15;434(2):462–473. doi: 10.1016/0005-2795(76)90236-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Puwaravutipanich T., Panyim S. The nuclear basic proteins of human testes and ejaculated spermatozoa. Exp Cell Res. 1975 Jan;90(1):153–158. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(75)90368-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Samuel T., Alexander N. J., Rümke P. Reproducibility of the indirect immunofluorescence test on swollen human spermheads. Clin Exp Immunol. 1977 May;28(2):223–225. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Samuel T. Antibodies reacting with salmon and human protamines in sera from infertile men and from vasectomized men and monkeys. Clin Exp Immunol. 1977 Nov;30(2):181–187. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Samuel T., Crewe P. R., Kolk A. H., Rumke P., Barnes R. D. Cross-reaction of antibodies present in sera of vasectomized mice with human swollen spermheads. Clin Exp Immunol. 1976 Jul;25(1):80–84. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Samuel T. Differentiation between antibodies to protamines and somatic nuclear antigens by means of a comparative fluorescence study on swollen nuclei of spermatozoa and somatic cells. Clin Exp Immunol. 1978 May;32(2):290–298. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Samuel T., Kolk A. H., Rümke P., Van Lis J. M. Autoimmunity to sperm antigens in vasectomized men. Clin Exp Immunol. 1975 Jul;21(1):65–74. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Samuel T., Linnet L., Rümke P. Post-vasectomy autoimmunity to protamines in relation to the formation of granulomas and sperm agglutinating antibodies. Clin Exp Immunol. 1978 Aug;33(2):261–269. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Shires A., Carpenter M. P., Chalkley R. A cysteine-containing H2B-like histone found in mature mammalian testis. J Biol Chem. 1976 Jul 10;251(13):4155–4158. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Smauel T., Kolk A. H., Rümke P., Aarden L. A., Bustin M. Histone and DNA detection in swollen spermatozoa and somatic cells, by immunofluorescence. Clin Exp Immunol. 1976 Apr;24(1):63–71. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Stollar B. D., Ward M. Rabbit antibodies to histone fractions as specific reagents for preparative and comparative studies. J Biol Chem. 1970 Mar 25;245(6):1261–1266. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. WASSERMAN E., LEVINE L. Quantitative micro-complement fixation and its use in the study of antigenic structure by specific antigen-antibody inhibition. J Immunol. 1961 Sep;87:290–295. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES