PARENT SESSION
Fertility Regulation
365
ANTIBODY AND PREGNANCY RESPONSES IN DOMESTIC CATS FOLLOWING IMMUNIZATION AGAINST RECOMBINANT PORCINE ZONA PELLUCIDA PROTEIN.
Ahmadzadeh, Amin1, Boyle, Steven2, Purswell, Beverly2, 1 2
ABSTRACT- The objective of the present study was to 1) assess the IgG and IgA responses in domestic cats following active immunization against partial length recombinant porcine Zona Pellucida (pZP1) protein; and 2) to examine pregnancy response to pZP1 immunization following natural mating. Complimentary DNA sequences encoding partial porcine ZP genes encoding amino acids 1-133 (ZP133) and amino acids 1-198 (ZP198) were cloned separately into expression plasmid and transformed into Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli, respectively. After purification of recombinant ZP proteins, 9 adult female cats (3 cats/treatment group) were immunized (s.c.) with either saline, 70 ug ZP198, or 150 ug ZP133. Cats were immunized on wk 0, 4 and 12 and blood samples were collected before and after immunization and were assessed for anti-ZP IgG and IgA using ELISA. Cats were naturally mated once 5 wks after initial immunization. Thirty days post-mating and after detection of pregnancy, abortions were induced by combination of prostaglandin F2 alpha and a dopamine agonist. All cats were mated for the second time on wk 16. Immunization of cats with both ZP198 and ZP133 elicited an increase (P < 0.01) in serum IgG and IgA, while they remained unchanged in the control group. ZP immunization had no effect on fertility and there was no difference in pregnancy rates among the treatment groups. These results suggest that although recombinant porcine ZP is immunogenic in cats, it does not produce contraceptive effects and therefore recombinant porcine ZP may not be a suitable protein for an immunocontraceptive vaccine in cats.
KEY WORDS: zona pellucida, immunocontraception, cat