Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 7, 2026
Mouse Round Spermatid Injection
Published on: January 26, 2024
Investigation of recombinant mouse sperm protein izumo as a potential immunocontraceptive antigen
De-Gang Wang1, Tian-Hua Huang, Qing-Dong Xie
1Research Center for Reproductive Medicine, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong, China.
Problem:
To determine if the recombinant mouse Izumo (mIzumo) could be used as a potential immunocontraceptive antigen.
Method Of Study:
The recombinant mIzumo fused with 6His tag (6His-mIzumo) was purified by immobilized Ni2+ affinity chromatography. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot were used to detect anti-6His-mIzumo activities of serum from the mice immunized with 6His-mIzumo. Inhibition of the anti-6His-mIzumo antibody on mouse sperm-egg fusion in vitro was performed using the zona free oocytes and acrosome reacted sperm. Fertility of the 6His-mIzumo immunized male and female mice was compared with control mice.
Results:
The recombinant mIzumo was successfully produced. Female and male mice inoculated with 6His-mIzumo developed a specific serum antibody and the highest antibody titer lasted at least 6 weeks. The serum anti-6His-mIzumo antibody almost completely blocked mouse sperm-egg fusion in vitro. However, there was no significant reduction in fertility for both male and female mice immunized with 6His-mIzumo compared with control mice.
Conclusion:
The circulated anti-mIzumo antibody can block mouse sperm-egg fusion in vitro but has no effect on fertility in vivo. It seems that application of Izumo as a candidate antigen in development of contraceptive vaccine needs further investigation.
