Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF )
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tesarik, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Tesarik, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Human Reproduction, Vol. 10, No. suppl_2, pp. 132-139, 1995
© 1995 European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

Targeting the zona pellucida for immunocontraception: a minireview

Jan Tesarik

American Hospital of Paris 63 Boulevard Victor Hugo, 92202 Neuilly sur Seine, France

This minireview summarizes the main data relevant to the development of contraceptive vaccines based on zona pellucida (ZP) antigens, as well as the pros and the cons of this immuno-contraceptive strategy. Even though the antifertility efficacy of anti-ZP antibodies in humans is not corroborated by a clear relationship between spontaneous autoimmunization against the ZP and infertility, passive and active immunization studies in laboratory animals have provided convincing results. The contraceptive action of anti-ZP antibodies, targeting events situated upstream of gamete fusion, is devoid of potential ethical concerns related to the destruction of early embryos. The high protein content of the mammalian ZP, knowledge of the complete amino acid sequence of the major ZP proteins, and the high degree of sequence homology between individual species all favour the rapid advancement of anti-ZP vaccine projects. However, certain sequences of ZP proteins, when incorporated into the vaccine construct, activate CD4+ T cells of the recipient organism to direct a cellular immune attack (autoimmune oophoritis) to other functionally relevant ovarian components (primordial follicles, steroidogenic cells). The search for the optimal combination of B cell and T cell epitopes in the vaccine construct will hopefully overcome this problem.

Key words: contraceptive vaccines/immunocontraception/immunoinhibition of fertilization/zona pellucida


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.