Abstract
The possibility of a contraceptive vaccine targeting human chorionic gonadotropin has long been recognized, but never fully realized. Here we describe an epitope-specific approach based on immunogenic display of hCG-derived peptides on virus-like particles of RNA bacteriophage. A number of recombinant VLPs were constructed, each displaying a different hCG-derived peptide. Some were taken from the disordered C-terminal tail of the hormone, another came from an internal loop, and yet another was an epitope mimic produced by affinity-selection on an hCG-neutralizing antibody target. Immunization of mice with some VLPs yielded antisera that bound the hormone and neutralized hCG biological activity.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
MeSH terms
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Animals
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Antibodies, Neutralizing / biosynthesis
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Antibodies, Neutralizing / immunology
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Biological Assay
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Capsid Proteins / immunology*
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Chorionic Gonadotropin / antagonists & inhibitors
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Chorionic Gonadotropin / chemistry
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Chorionic Gonadotropin / immunology*
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Chorionic Gonadotropin / pharmacology
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Epitopes / chemistry
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Epitopes / immunology*
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Female
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Humans
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Levivirus / immunology*
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Mice
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Mice, Inbred C57BL
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Organ Size / drug effects
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Peptide Fragments / chemistry
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Peptide Fragments / immunology
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Protein Conformation
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Protein Engineering
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Random Allocation
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Uterus / anatomy & histology
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Vaccines, Contraceptive / immunology*
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Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle / immunology*
Substances
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Antibodies, Neutralizing
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Capsid Proteins
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Chorionic Gonadotropin
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Epitopes
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Peptide Fragments
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Vaccines, Contraceptive
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Vaccines, Virus-Like Particle