Scientists develop contraceptive antibodies that paralyze sperm

Scientists at Boston University School of Medicine have developed an antibody that causes sperm to aggregate and immobilize.

Developed in collaboration with San Diego-based ZabBio, Human Contraceptive Antibody (HCA) has been tested in vitro against normal, healthy volunteer sperm at varying concentrations and conditions.

Within 15 seconds, sperm were immobilized and tightly aggregated or stuck together.

Some men and women naturally produce these “anti-sperm antibodies” in their genital secretions, causing infertility.

However, BU’s medical professor and co-author of Lancet’s new treatise, Deborah Anderson, said HCA can be administered vaginal with soluble film “for women-controlled on-demand contraception.” Said.

The researchers said the antibody did not cause vaginitis in laboratory tissue culture trials and is currently being tested in Phase I clinical trials in humans.

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In a laboratory setting, human contraceptive antibodies (HCA) fixed sperm and attached them within 15 seconds. Photo: Normal sperm compared to HCA-aggregated sperm (left)

According to the Guttmacher Institute, about 65% of US women between the ages of 15 and 49 use some form of contraception.

However, while oral contraceptives require proper adherence and can cause side effects, barrier methods have their own drawbacks. Planned Parenthood reports that inserting an IUD is painful and can exacerbate dysmenorrhea, but the diaphragm is less effective at preventing pregnancy.

“HCA can be used by women who are not using currently available contraceptive methods and can have a significant impact on global health,” Anderson said.

It can also be combined with other antibodies, such as those that fight HIV and herpes simplex virus, to create gels that combine contraception with protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Researchers have confirmed that HCA has been added to the soluble film applied to the vagina for a female-controlled on-demand contraceptive method.Photo: HCA-treated sperm that did not react with human vaginal or tonsil tissue

In samples taken to test sperm count and motility, aggregated or stacked sperm sank to the bottom of the tube.

Almost all contraceptive methods except condoms focus on female partners, but the situation can change as more than 100 men are currently participating in the Nestron trial. It could be the first hormonal contraceptive on the men’s market.

Nestron uses progestin, a synthetic hormone that is also used in women’s contraceptives, to turn off the natural production of testosterone, which prevents sperm production in the testicles.

The addition of synthetic testosterone ensures that male libido and overall physical health are maintained. As a result, his semen does not contain sperm, but researchers say it has few other recognizable side effects.

Nestron is prescribed as a gel rather than a pill. Must be applied daily.

But like women’s tablets, previous studies have shown that nesterone is reversible. Within months of stopping the drug, volunteer sperm production returned to normal.

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