Immunocontraception and the immune system
Could contraception with PZP select for reduced levels of immunological defenses?
Immunocontraceptive methods of contraception rely on the immune responses of recipient animals to achieve infertility. Injection with porcine zona pellucida (PZP), for example, induces the production of antibodies that cross-react with an animal’s own egg cells, preventing fertilization while maintaining ovulation. Such methods may have important evolutionary consequences for immune response in managed populations. Immune responses are highly variable among individuals and in the case of PZP, those individuals mounting less effective responses may be favored by selection. This process could select for reduced antibody response to PZP, diminishing the efficacy of this important management tool. Furthermore, such selection could prove detrimental if it also reduces antibody responses to other antigens, including relevant disease agents.
By determining the immunocompetence of PZP non-responders, the heritability of feral horse antibody response, and the links to more general immune function in these animals, my students and I will provide conservation biologists and managers with important information about the physiology and evolution of species. Such knowledge can be integrated with future conservation and management practices to achieve best results.
Immunocontraceptive methods of contraception rely on the immune responses of recipient animals to achieve infertility. Injection with porcine zona pellucida (PZP), for example, induces the production of antibodies that cross-react with an animal’s own egg cells, preventing fertilization while maintaining ovulation. Such methods may have important evolutionary consequences for immune response in managed populations. Immune responses are highly variable among individuals and in the case of PZP, those individuals mounting less effective responses may be favored by selection. This process could select for reduced antibody response to PZP, diminishing the efficacy of this important management tool. Furthermore, such selection could prove detrimental if it also reduces antibody responses to other antigens, including relevant disease agents.
By determining the immunocompetence of PZP non-responders, the heritability of feral horse antibody response, and the links to more general immune function in these animals, my students and I will provide conservation biologists and managers with important information about the physiology and evolution of species. Such knowledge can be integrated with future conservation and management practices to achieve best results.