Immunological Infertility

[Mega [Andreas Stuermer]]

Hi everyone, 

I just came across a German article mentioning if you are injured in the testicles, and thus blood and sperm mix, the immune system can form anti-sperm antibodies. This causes immunological infertility. I don't remember to have come across this before, does anyone know more of this? 

What I particularily wonder - I guess everyone who is more or less active in Sports etc will have gotten a hit at one point in their lives. So how comes not all men are infertile? 

Maybe if you don't have illnesses, your immune system is not alert (no inflamatory cytokines) and the "foreign" sperm surface molecules are not recognized (-> no antibodies are made)? 

I wonder too, especially for kids: Here in school they get free vaccines. What if they hit each other or get hit by a soccer ball in the testicles - and then get the vaccine? The vaccine makes the immune system alert, and then antisperm-antibodies will be produced for sure? 

Just some random thoughts, maybe someone knows more? 

[David Murphy]

The testicles are immune-privileged, so is the eye. Thus you can get injured in one eye but then go totally blind as your body develops an auto-immune reaction to the other eye. 

Evolution-wise being sterilized or blinded aren't so far from death so it takes quite a bit to break the barriers in question.

A football to the testicles might hurt a lot but it normally takes a lot more to burst open a testicle and a punch in the face hurts but it takes quite a bit of force or bad luck to rupture your eyeball. 

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