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Review
. 2011 Jul;66(1):63-70.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0897.2011.01005.x. Epub 2011 Apr 19.

Contraceptive vaccines for the humane control of community cat populations

Affiliations
Review

Contraceptive vaccines for the humane control of community cat populations

Julie K Levy. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2011 Jul.

Abstract

Free-roaming unowned stray and feral cats exist throughout the world, creating concerns regarding their welfare as well as their impact on the environment and on public health. Millions of healthy cats are culled each year in an attempt to control their numbers. Surgical sterilization followed by return to the environment is an effective non-lethal population control method but is limited in scope because of expense and logistical impediments. Immunocontraception has the potential to be a more practical and cost-effective method of control. This is a review of current research in immunocontraception in domestic cats. Functional characteristics of an ideal immunocontraceptive for community cats would include a wide margin of safety for target animals and the environment, rapid onset and long duration of activity following a single treatment in males and females of all ages, and sex hormone inhibition. In addition, product characteristics should include stability and ease of use under field conditions, efficient manufacturing process, and low cost to the user. Two reproductive antigens, zona pellucida and GnRH, have been identified as possible targets for fertility control in cats. Zona pellucida, which is used successfully in multiple wildlife species, has achieved little success in cats. In contrast, immunization against GnRH has resulted in long-term contraception in both male and female cats following a single dose. GnRH is an ideal contraceptive target because it regulates pituitary and gonadal hormone responses in both males and females, thus suppressing nuisance behaviors associated with sex hormones in addition to preventing pregnancy. The responsiveness of cats to fertility control via GnRH suppression should encourage researchers and cat control stakeholders to continue efforts to optimize vaccines that induce multiyear contraception following a single dose in a high proportion of treated cats.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Phenotypic responses of cats six months after receiving a single sham treatment (left) or GonaCon™, a vaccine containing synthetic GnRH coupled to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and emulsified in oil and killed mycobacterium (box). Testes size six months after vaccination was corrected to GnRH antibody titer and inversely correlated with serum testosterone concentration. Three cats receiving a sham-treatment had normal-sized testes (a), whereas cats vaccinated against GnRH had variable testicular atrophy depending on the GnRH titer and resulting suppression of testosterone (b). Penile spines remained prominent in sham-treated cats (c) and regressed in cats that responded to GnRH vaccination (d).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Intervals during which testosterone was undetectable in individual male cats following a single dose of the GnRH vaccine GonaCon™. Onset and duration of immunocastration varied among cats and three cats with a poor antibody response to vaccination never had more than one month without detectable serum testosterone.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
GnRH antibody titer correlation with testosterone (a), total sperm count (b), and scrotal volume (c) in a representative cat following a single dose of the GnRH vaccine GonaCon™. The GnRH antibody titer reached a contraceptive level within one month of vaccination after which testosterone and sperm count decreased to undetectable levels and scrotal volume decreased. GnRH antibody titer waned 12 months after vaccination, which was associated with recovery of testosterone production, normal sperm counts, and increased scrotal volume.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Results of a breeding trial in female cats following a single sham treatment (n=5 cats) or the GnRH vaccine GonaCon™ (n=15 cats). Cats were group-housed with fertile males beginning 4 months after GnRH vaccination and remained until they were successfully bred. Four cats maintained high GnRH antibody titers and remained infertile throughout the study until it was completed five years following a single GnRH vaccination.

References

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