Oral Immunization with Attenuated Salmonella Expressing Human Sperm Antigen Induces Antibodies in Serum and the Reproductive Tract1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Induction of immune responses in the reproductive tract will be crucial for a functional gamete antigen-based antifertility vaccine. Here we describe the construction and development of an avirulent Salmonella as an oral vaccine delivery vector to elicit sperm-specific immune responses in reproductive tract secretions. A cDNA sequence encoding the human sperm antigen SP10 was cloned on an asd+vector and expressed to a high level in an avirulent delta cya, delta crp, and delta asd vaccine strain of Salmonella typhimurium. Oral immunization of female BALB/c mice with this recombinant Salmonella elicited high-titer anti-SP10 IgG antibodies in serum and IgA antibodies in vaginal secretions. Anti-SP10 antibody titers could be increased by secondary and tertiary oral administrations of the recombinant Salmonella. Induction of sperm-specific antibodies in the reproductive tract following oral administration of a recombinant Salmonella could lead to the development of a simple, safe, efficient, and easy-to-use antifertility vaccine.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: