Dirnhofer S, Berger P
Institute for Biomedical Aging Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Innsbruck, Austria.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 1995 Dec;108(4):350-4. doi: 10.1159/000237181.
The global population is currently expanding at the unprecedented rate of nearly 1 billion per decade, with 94% of the increase occurring in the developing world. New methods of fertility regulation are urgently needed, and the development of birth control vaccines by active immunization against antigens specific for reproduction has made substantial progress during the last two decades. These vaccines are meant to have an outstanding impact on future control of worldwide population growth by providing safe, effective, long-lasting and reversible contraception. The most advanced of these vaccines are based on the placental pregnancy hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), and have already entered clinical trials. However, immunological cross-reactivity and lack of efficacy of anti-hCG antibodies seriously challenge this strategy. Conversely, efforts to understand the molecular events involved in the fusion of sperm and egg have led to the identification of new target structures for the development of fertility-regulating vaccines. Herein, we summarize the current state of birth control vaccines and discuss the risks and drawbacks of this approach to fertility regulation.
目前全球人口正以前所未有的速度增长，近十年内人口增长了近10亿，其中94%的增长发生在发展中世界。迫切需要新的生育调节方法，在过去二十年里，通过主动免疫针对生殖特异性抗原开发避孕疫苗取得了重大进展。这些疫苗旨在通过提供安全、有效、持久且可逆的避孕方法，对未来全球人口增长控制产生显著影响。这些疫苗中最先进的是基于胎盘妊娠激素人绒毛膜促性腺激素（hCG）的疫苗，并且已经进入临床试验阶段。然而，抗hCG抗体的免疫交叉反应性和缺乏有效性严重挑战了这一策略。相反，对精子与卵子融合所涉及分子事件的研究努力，已导致确定了用于开发生育调节疫苗的新靶点结构。在此，我们总结了避孕疫苗的现状，并讨论了这种生育调节方法的风险和缺点。
