UMR GReD Institute (Génétique Reproduction & Développement) CNRS 6293, INSERM U1103, Equipe «Mécanismes de L'infertilité Mâle Post-Testiculaire», Université Clermont Auvergne, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Int J Mol Sci. 2021 Sep 15;22(18):9965. doi: 10.3390/ijms22189965.
The cyclical proliferation of the wild fossorial rodent () is critical in mid-mountain ecosystems of several European countries. Our goal is to develop an immunocontraceptive vaccine to control their fertility, as a sustainable alternative to chemical poisons currently used. Indeed, these chemicals cause the death of predators and animals sharing their ecosystem, and current laws progressively limit their use, making the development of a targeted vaccination strategy an interesting and efficient alternative. In order to identify species-specific sperm antigens, male and female received subcutaneous injections of whole spermatozoa to elicit an immune response. The analysis of the immune sera led to the identification of 120 immunogenic proteins of sperm cells. Of these, 15 were strictly sperm-specific and located in different regions of the male gamete. Some of these antigens are proteins involved in molecular events essential to the reproductive process, such as sperm-egg interaction, acrosomal reaction, or sperm motility. This approach not only identified a panel of immunogenic proteins from sperm cells, but also demonstrated that some of these proteins trigger an immune response in both male and female . These spermatic antigens are good candidates for the development of a contraceptive vaccine.
野生穴居啮齿动物（）的周期性增殖对几个欧洲国家的中海拔生态系统至关重要。我们的目标是开发一种免疫避孕疫苗来控制它们的生育能力，作为目前使用的化学毒药的可持续替代品。事实上，这些化学物质会导致捕食者和与其共享生态系统的动物死亡，而当前的法律逐渐限制了它们的使用，因此开发有针对性的疫苗接种策略是一种有趣且有效的替代方案。为了鉴定种特异性精子抗原，雄性和雌性 接受了皮下注射全精子以引发免疫反应。对免疫血清的分析导致鉴定出 120 种精子细胞的免疫原性蛋白。其中，15 种是严格的精子特异性蛋白，位于雄性配子的不同区域。这些抗原中的一些是参与生殖过程中必不可少的分子事件的蛋白质，例如精子-卵子相互作用、顶体反应或精子运动。这种方法不仅从 精子细胞中鉴定出了一组免疫原性蛋白，还证明了这些蛋白中的一些在雄性和雌性 中都会引发免疫反应。这些精子抗原是开发避孕疫苗的良好候选物。
