title: A vaccine that prevents pregnancy in women.
abstract: We report here results of clinical trials on a birth control vaccine, consisting of a heterospecies dimer of the beta subunit of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) associated noncovalently with the alpha subunit of ovine luteinizing hormone and conjugated to tetanus and diphtheria toxoids as carriers, that induces antibodies of high avidity (K(a) approximately 10(10) M-1) against hCG. Fertile women exposed to conception over 1224 cycles recorded only one pregnancy at antibody titers of > 50 ng/ml (hCG bioneutralization capacity). The antibody response declines with time; fertility was regained when titers fell to < 35 ng/ml. This study presents evidence of the feasibility of a vaccine for control of human fertility.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Talwar
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sahai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dhall
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Das
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buckshee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D002417:Cattle; D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin / Q000276:immunology*; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone / Q000276:immunology*; D008598:Menstruation; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology*; D012756:Sheep; D014612:Vaccines
chemical_list: D006063:Chorionic Gonadotropin; D014612:Vaccines; D007986:Luteinizing Hormone