Antisperm Vaccine for Contraception

Problem This study is a review of antisperm contraceptive vaccine (CV) development with the main focus on research going on in our laboratory. Method of study Various methods of proteomics and genomics, hybridoma technology, substractive libraries, differential display method, and phage display technology were used to obtain sperm‐specific genes and proteins. The present study will primarily focus on the sequences obtained by using the phage display technology and their role in CV development and human immunoinfertility. Result Four novel peptides, delineated by using the phage display technology, were found to be involved in human immunoinfertility. The vaccine based on one of these peptides, designated as YLP 12 , caused a reversible contraception in female mice. Conclusions The vaccine targeting sperm is a feasible and exciting approach to contraception. The phage display technology is a powerful tool to delineate sperm‐specific peptide sequences that can be used for the CV development and in the diagnosis and treatment of infertility mediated through antisperm antibodies.