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Copyright © 2004 Suri; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article: verbatim copying and redistribution of this article are permitted in all media for any purpose, provided this notice is preserved along with the article's original URL. Sperm specific proteins-potential candidate molecules for fertility control 1Genes and Proteins Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, Aruna Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi, India Corresponding author.Anil Suri: anil/at/nii.res.in Received October 29, 2003; Accepted March 10, 2004. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.Abstract The increase in population growth rate warrants the development of additional contraceptive methods that are widely acceptable, free from side effects and less expensive. Immunocontraception, and in particular the targeting of antibodies to gamete-specific antigens implicated in sperm egg binding and fertilization, offers an attractive approach to control fertility. The development of a contraceptive vaccine based on sperm antigen represents a promising approach to contraception. In mammals, fertilization is completed by the direct interaction of sperm and egg, a process mediated primarily by sperm surface proteins. Sperm have proteins that are unique, cell specific, immunogenic and accessible to antibodies. A few of the sperm specific proteins have been isolated and characterized. The antibodies raised against the sperm specific antigens have proved to be extremely effective at reducing sperm-egg interaction in vitro; fertility trials in sub-human primates would eventually prove the effectiveness of the sperm antigens in terms of contraceptive efficacy. |
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