If spermatozoa is not a foreign body for female that is ok. If it is foreign body then why does it not act like an antigen for which an antibody should be produced within the female body?
Spermatozoa are surely foreign bodies but all foreign bodies are not necessarily antigenic - example is collagen protein called gelatin which is used for making capsule cover. Secondly, antibody reaction starts if the antigen comes into the contact of immunogenic cells esp. those in the blood. But the blood is nowhere in direct contact of sperm or zygote or even fetus through all the 9 months of gestation (there is a placental barrier in between - you may recall).
Dear Dr Shah,
The female reproductive tract does recognise sperm as foreign and therefore antigenic. In a small percentage of infertile women we detect antisperm antibodies in both cervical mucus, serum and follicular fluid which can block sperm function. There is evidence from a good lab that most women produce sperm antibodies, but that in the majority the antisperm activity is not detected in our assays because these women have high levels of anti-idiotypic antibodies which bind to the antigen binding site. You might find it interesting to read:
Naz et al (1993) J.Clin.Invest. 92: 2331-38.
Clarke GN (2008) Fertility & Sterility 91:639-43.
Chamley LW & Clarke GN (2007) Semin. Immunopathol. 29:169-84.
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