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Long-term contraceptive efficacy of vaccine of ovine follicle-stimulating hormone in male bonnet monkeys (Macaca radiata)

Summary. A group of ten healthy fertile adult male bonnet monkeys were actively immunized using procedures acceptable for human use with pure follicle-stimulating hormone (oFSH) isolated from sheep pituitaries. The vaccine elicited an immunogenic response in all ten monkeys; the antibody-binding capacity, determined by Scatchard analysis, varied from 3 to 18 µg oFSH ml^–1, the binding affinity ranging from 0·13 to 2·0 x 10¹⁰ mol^–1. A substantial population of antibodies against oFSH crossreacted with ¹²⁵I-labelled human (h) FSH, used here as a representative ligand of primate FSH. The bioneutralization activity of the antisera assessed by a specific bioassay in vitro, when the antibody titre was high, was 6·9 ± 0·18 µg hFSH ml^–1. Immunization for 4·7–5·7 years did not affect the health and libido of the animals. Concentration of testosterone in serum remained normal throughout the study, but, within 150 days of immunization, there was a marked decrease (75–100%) in the number of spermatozoa in seminal ejaculates. Oligospermic status interspersed with azoospermia was maintained by periodic boosting. The fertility of these animals was monitored between 6 months and 2 years after primary immunization. All the ten animals proved infertile in repeated mating experiments with females of proven fertility. After stopping booster injections, nine of ten animals regained fertility, but the time taken for this depended upon the rate of decline of antibody titres. Re-boosting these monkeys with 100 µg oFSH after confirming that recovery had occurred revealed prompt increases in antibody titres followed once again by onset of oligo-azoospermia and infertility, underscoring the specificity of immunization effect. The immunized monkeys, apart from being acutely oligospermic, ejaculated spermatozoa that were markedly deficient in key acrosomal enzymes, such as acrosin and hyaluronidase, and motility as well as in their ability to penetrate a gel in vitro, suggesting that the infertility observed was due to gross reductions in the numbers of spermatozoa that could effectively interact with the oocyte and cause successful fertilization.

Keywords: gonadotrophins; follicle-stimulating hormone; testicular function; fertility; immunization; contraception; bonnet monkey

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