Approaches to the development of oral contraceptive vaccines for invasive raccoons (Procyon lotor)

本研究对引进浣熊（Procyon lotor）的免疫生育控制进行了基础研究，特别是以透明带3蛋白（ZP3）为基础的口服疫苗。对包括精子结合位点在内的全ZP3基因进行测序。根据PZ3精子结合位点的氨基酸序列设计合成肽。将合成肽疫苗注射到4只家兔体内，获得了含有浣熊ZP3精子结合位点抗体的血清。为验证抗体与ZP的结合，采用免疫组化方法对貉、狗、猫、貉、日本獾、日本黑熊和小印度猫鼬卵巢进行免疫组化。从一只家兔身上获得的抗体能与浣熊ZP结合。然而，在其他一些动物中也证实了抗体与zp的结合。本研究使用的合成肽疫苗在种特异性方面存在一定问题，有待进一步研究。

In this study, we conducted the fundamental research about immunological fertility-control for introduced raccoons (Procyon lotor), particularly the zona pellucida 3 protein (ZP3) based oral vaccines. The full ZP3 gene including sperm combining site was sequenced. The synthetic peptides were designed on the basis of the amino acid sequence of PZ3 sperm combining site. The synthetic peptide vaccine was injected into four rabbits and the serum was obtained that contained the antibody to raccoon ZP3 sperm combining site. To verify the binding of the antibody to ZP, immune-histochemistry was performed using ovarian of raccoon, dog, cat, raccoon dog, Japanese badger, Japanese black bear and small Indian mongoose. The antibody obtained from one rabbit was able to bind raccoon ZP. However, the antibody-ZP binding was confirmed also in some other animals. The synthetic peptide vaccine used in this study had some issue as species-specificity, so further research should be needed.