Vectored antibody gene delivery mediates long-term contraception
Li, J.; Olvera, A.I.; Akbari, O.S.; Moradian, A.; Sweredoski, M.J.; Hess, S.; Hay, B.A.
Current Biology Cb 25(19): R820-R822
2015
ISSN/ISBN: 1879-0445 PMID: 26439332 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.08.002Document Number: 640239
Development of non-surgical methods of long-term or permanent contraception remains a challenge. Towards this objective, we show that intramuscular injection of a replication-incompetent, recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) designed to express an antibody that binds gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a master regulator of reproduction in vertebrates, results in long-term infertility in male and female mice. Female mice are also rendered infertile through rAAV-dependent expression of an antibody that binds to the zona pellucida (ZP), a glycoprotein matrix that surrounds the egg and functions as a sperm-binding site. Many proteins known or suspected to be important for reproduction can be targeted, potentially reversibly, using this approach, which we refer to as vectored contraception (VC).
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