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Immunoglobulin Entry into the Male Reproductive Tract: Implications for immunocontraception and vaccine development

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Reproductive Immunology

Abstract

Efforts to develop male immunocontraceptive vaccines and vaccines targeted at sexually transmitted diseases which affect the male reproductive tract assume that antibodies induced following immunisation will access antigens (spermatozoa and infectious organisms) within the male reproductive ducts. Most work in this area targets the induction of humoral immunity due to the observations that cell-mediated immune responses may contribute to immunopathology at this site. This assumption appears at odds with the concept of a blood: testis or blood: epididymis barrier which has evolved to isolate the male reproductive tract and its developing germ cells from the host immune system. These barriers are required due to the fact that mechanisms which allow the immune system to discriminate between self and non-self develop well before the development of spermatozoa occurs and thus sperm are considered to be foreign. In the present study we have immunised rabbits, rats and mice with a non reproductive tract antigen (tetanus toxoid) and a sperm antigen (PH-20), using a variety of immunisation routes and adjuvants which target both systemic and mucosal immunity, in order to determine which protocol elicits the highest antibody levels in the male extratesticular ducts.pp

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Discipline of Immunology and Microbiology, Australia

    Kenneth W. Beagley & Christine M. Gockel

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

    Nicole Newcombe, Zhong Ling Wu & Russell C. Jones

  3. CSIRO, Canberra

    Michael J. Holland

  4. Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

    Shisian Bao

Authors
  1. Kenneth W. Beagley
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  2. Nicole Newcombe
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  3. Zhong Ling Wu
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  4. Christine M. Gockel
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  5. Shisian Bao
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  6. Michael J. Holland
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  7. Russell C. Jones
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Gamete Antigen Laboratory, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India

    Satish K. Gupta (Chief) (Chief)

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Beagley, K.W. et al. (1999). Immunoglobulin Entry into the Male Reproductive Tract: Implications for immunocontraception and vaccine development. In: Gupta, S.K. (eds) Reproductive Immunology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4197-0_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4197-0_30

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5825-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4197-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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