Immunization with Spermatozoal Peptide Antigens Resulting in Immuno-suppression of Fertility Rates in Female Rats

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Abstract
Low MW peptides were isolated from the rat epididymal sperm surface using gel chromatography and preparative TLC. After coupling the partially purified peptides to rat albumin these were injected into female Wistar rats. Immunization with these spermatozoal peptides resulted in significantly reduced fertility rates as determined by the frequency of pregnancies and the number of fetuses per rat. The purification steps revealed that these rat spermatozoal peptides were comparable with peptides isolated from human ejaculated spermatozoa. Immunization with these antigens might induce sterility in humans.