ISSN:
0148-7280
Keywords:
cervical mucus
;
infertility
;
sialic acid
;
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Cervical-factor infertility has generally been attributed to the presence of antispermatozoal antibodies in the secretions of the uterine cervix, despite the fact that the incidence of sperm-specific antibodies in these women is generally low. We report here a modification in the structure of the cervical mucus of patients with a diagnosed cervical factor. Cervical mucus from patients with a cervical factor of nonimmunological origin, collected during the periovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle, had (1) a significant decrease in the content of glycosidically bound sialic acid and (2) an increased ability to act as an acceptor for sialic acid from cytidine-5′-monophospho-N-acetylneuraminic acid (CMP-sialic acid) when incubated with an exogenous sialyltransferase; in comparison to mucus from normal fertile women. Both siaiyltransferase and fucosyltransferase activities were detected in cervical mucus, but there was no difference between fertile normal and cervical-factor patients using the assays described. These results reinforce a possible role for sialic acid residues and their associated glycosyltransferases in the regulation of spermatozoal-cervical mucus interaction.
Additional Material:
4 Tab.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mrd.1120120305
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