Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35725392›Full record

ArticleBMC immunology2022

The effect of probiotics on immunogenicity of spermatozoa in couples suffering from recurrent spontaneous abortion.

Mitra Rafiee, Nasrin Sereshki, Razieh Alipour, Vahid Ahmadipanah, Davod Pashoutan Sarvar, David Wilkinson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC immunology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Semen Microbiome, Male Infertility, and Reproductive Health.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  3. Bacterial live therapeutics for human diseases.Molecular systems biology · 2024
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Microbiome Changes in Pregnancy Disorders.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023
    Review
  8. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Mitra RafieeDepartment of Immunology, Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran.
Nasrin SereshkiDepartment of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. sereshki55@gmail.com.
Razieh AlipourDepartment of Immunology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Vahid AhmadipanahAsadabad School of Medical Sciences, Asadabad, Iran.
Davod Pashoutan SarvarAsadabad School of Medical Sciences, Asadabad, Iran.
David WilkinsonUniversity of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences · IRBirjand University of Medical Sciences · IRUniversity of Aberdeen · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImpaired spermatozoa immunogenicity can result in pregnancy complications such as recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA). Given that spermatozoa contact with microbiota, it is possible that inappropriate microbiota composition in the reproductive tract could result in the alteration of spermatozoa antigenicity. Probiotics, as a representative of microbiota, may therefore have a beneficial effect on this altered immunogenicity. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of probiotics on spermatozoa immunogenicity.

methodsTwenty-five fertile couples and twenty-five RSA couples were included in this study. Spermatozoa were purified and treated with probiotics. Untreated and probiotic treated spermatozoa were evaluated for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I & II expression by flow cytometry. Untreated and probiotic treated spermatozoa were also cocultured with the wife's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for 12 days. Then, the supernatant was assessed for IgG and APCA by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) assay respectively.

resultsProbiotic treatment of spermatozoa leads to an increase of HLA class I & II expression in both the fertile and RSA groups. The probiotic treatment resulted in a decrease in both IgG and APCA in the fertile group, but an increase in both IgG and APCA in the RSA group.

conclusionsThe results of this study suggest that a supplementary probiotic treatment may be useful in couples suffering from RSA with an immunologic cause, because it improves disturbed HLA expression on spermatozoa and improves disturbed APCA and IgG production in the presence of spermatozoa.

Indexed as

Abortion, HabitualAbortion, SpontaneousProbioticsSpermatozoaFemaleHistocompatibility Antigens Class IHLA AntigensHumansImmunoglobulin GLeukocytes, MononuclearMalePregnancyHistocompatibility Antigens Class IHLA AntigensImmunoglobulin GAPCAHLA class I & IIProbioticRecurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA)Spermatozoa

Identifiers

PMID35725392
PMCPMC9210679
OpenAlexW4283156596

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.