CONTRACEPTION BY BLOCKADE OF PERIOVULATORY EVENTS IN PRIMATES (U54 CENTER)

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Development Research Center that targets the discovery and development of novel contraceptive drugs that prevent one or more periovulatory events in adult, female primates during the menstrual cycle. Three research projects and one animal core utilize Old World (macaque) monkeys to generate new information and proof-of-concept regarding modalities that prevent oocyte fertilization, and hence fertility, in women. Project I, "Control of Oocyte Maturation", will address the hypothesis that novel follicle cell-, and oocyte-derived proteins control nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation of the oocyte, and can be exploited to disrupt timely egg maturation. Also this project will analyze follicle/cumulus- and oocyte-derived proteins that control cumulus-oocyte expansion and follicle rupture, and test whether antagonists prevent ovulation and egg release. Project III, "Control of Gamete Transport and Fertilization" tests the hypothesis that estrogen action is essential for normal oviductal and cervical function, such that a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) will disrupt gamete transport, and hence, fertilization. Promising agents discovered in Projects I - III will be tested in the Nonhuman Primate Contraceptive Core for contraceptive efficacy and reversibility. Existing ties with the pharmaceutical industry and OB/GYN, OHSU, will promote translational research relevant to formulating novel ovary/reproductive tract-based contraceptives for women. See individual projects for progress reports and publications.