title: Protein prime-peptide boost as a new strategy induced an Eppin dominant B-cell epitope specific immune response and suppressed fertility.
abstract: To identify the neutralizing B-cell epitope of epididymal protease inhibitor (Eppin) and promote its immunogenicity, we designed four candidate B-cell epitopes peptide and employed a recombinant human Eppin (rhEppin) protein prime/peptide boost strategy to compare the immune responses and fertility inhibition effect with that of rhEppin or peptide alone vaccination. Our results indicate that priming with Eppin and boosting with different peptide showed similarly enhanced antibodies titers but different fertility inhibition effect, which coordinated with the motility inhibition of the antisera to human sperm. Thus we explored an alternative approach to induce dominant neutralizing B-cell epitope specific immune response and an ideal protocol for providing effective and long-term fertility inhibition of male mice.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Immunology, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400030, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhengqiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Zhiqing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Haiyang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Ji
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Yuzhang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jintao
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D005298:Fertility / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D053491:Proteinase Inhibitory Proteins, Secretory / Q000276:immunology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D022642:Vaccines, Contraceptive / Q000276:immunology*; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D018985:Epitopes, B-Lymphocyte; C431553:Eppin protein, human; D053491:Proteinase Inhibitory Proteins, Secretory; D022642:Vaccines, Contraceptive; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic