Some day it may be the guy who takes the pill. In the next decade, new contraceptive drugs may give couples more options to protect themselves against unwanted pregnancy - and research for this type of drug is going on right here at the University.
University researchers are developing drugs that enable female bodies to kill sperm like a disease and male bodies to halt sperm production entirely.
Last week, Cell Biology Prof. John C. Herr received Virginia's annual Outstanding Scientist Award for his research on sperm biology and work with the University Center for Recombinant Gamete Contraceptive Vaccinogens. Only two other scientists in the medical school have received the award since its inception in 1985.
Herr and researchers have developed a male fertility test and one day may produce a contraceptive vaccine which, like a flu shot, will make women immune to sperm and therefore unable to be fertilized. The duration of the vaccine is not yet known.
Herr has been researching at the University since 1981, looking for ways to bring aspects of sperm biology into clinical use. Herr's first product, a home fertility test for males called SpermCheck, currently is undergoing FDA approval and should be available over the counter in the next 18 months.
Herr set the foundation for contraceptive work at the University when in 1990 he formed, and subsequently was elected director of, the Center for Recombinant Gamete Contraceptive Vaccinogens. The Center is one of only three in the nation with similar research focuses. His research work at the Center earned him the Outstanding Scientist Award nomination from Medical School Dean Robert Carey.
"He's got an outstanding track record in his research, and I selected him based on his entrepreneurial ability. There haven't been many scientists who can take what they've researched and bring it to the consumer world to benefit everyone," Carey said.
Herr's lab researches sperm membrane proteins and their application to three separate areas, including contraceptive vaccines for females, male contraceptives and male fertility tests.
Membrane proteins on the surface of sperm are used to distinguish them from other cells. Antibodies - small proteins that recognize specific molecules or cells in the body - can be designed to seek and destroy sperm while ignoring every other cell type.
"By looking at proteins on the surface of sperm cells which do not exist on other cells, you can identify practical contraceptives," Herr said.
Because of Herr's research, the University holds the only patent for a male fertility test. Men who recently have undergone vasectomies or who are recovering from infertility-inducing diseases or injuries, as well as the seven million infertile couples in America, will be the main users of SpermCheck devices.
"No sperm kit has ever been available which can be used this easily and conveniently without microscopes or trained professionals," said laboratory manager Ken Klotz, who worked with Herr on this project. "Our vision is that this kit can be bought over the counter and used at home."
The contraceptive vaccine research will develop samples that "evoke an immune response rendering a woman [temporarily] infertile," Klotz said.
In a related but separate area, Herr is researching the genetics of sperm production in order to develop a system that can halt production. Herr has completed tests with genetically altered mice, which express reporter genes.
"We are attempting to explain gene regulation during sperm production and developing antagonists to interrupt the process," Herr said.
Molecule candidates not considered in the sperm vaccine may be used later in vaginal cream products, which could reduce the risk normally involved in the use of such contraceptives.
Since research is still in its early stages, the vaccine still may leave users open to serious dangers like sexually transmitted diseases Christine Peterson, associate director of the Gynecology Clinic at Student Health said.
"There's nothing in the vaccine to protect against STDs. It only impairs the sperm from fertilizing. It does nothing to protect one person's germs from infecting another," Peterson said.
She said some STDs transmit through bodily fluids and tissues. Since contraceptives such as condoms can keep the tissue and bodily fluids from coming in contact, they are better at reducing the chance that germs will travel.
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