title: Contraceptive potential of synthetic peptides of zona pellucida protein (ZPA).
abstract: Previously, we produced a fertilization-blocking monoclonal antibody (MAb-5H4) to find a candidate peptide for a contraceptive vaccine. MAb-5H4 recognized a linear amino acid sequence of ZPA (No. 50-67) in pigs, humans and rabbits. In the present study, 18mer peptides corresponding to the sequence were conjugated with diphtheria toxoid as a carrier protein before immunization in rabbits. All three antisera recognized human zona pellucida on testing by immunofluorescent staining method. The two produced against human and rabbit peptides effectively inhibited human sperm binding to the zona pellucida, but the antiserum against the pig peptide did not. The former two peptides include an identical sequence (LDPEKLTL) of the minimum binding motif for MAb-5H4, but the latter peptide includes one amino acid replacement (K to N) in the sequence. It is thus concluded that a synthetic peptide including the sequence of LDPEKLTL could be a feasible candidate for developing a contraceptive vaccine for humans.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Reproduction, Institute for Advanced Medical Sciences, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, 663-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shigeta
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Koyama
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D003269:Contraception, Immunologic; D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid; D004527:Egg Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D011817:Rabbits; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D013084:Sperm-Ovum Interactions / Q000276:immunology; D013552:Swine; D015044:Zona Pellucida / Q000276:immunology; D000072216:Zona Pellucida Glycoproteins
chemical_list: D004168:Diphtheria Toxoid; D004527:Egg Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D000072216:Zona Pellucida Glycoproteins