ABSTRACT

Vargas, Louis, Richard Sewell, Aileen Marshall, Josephine Galatioto, Yun-Yen Tsong, James F. Catterall, and Gary R. Hunnicutt. 2005. "Immune complex deposition in adult male Sprague–Dawley rats chronically immunized with GnRH," American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 54(5): 292–310. (PDF) (offsite link)

Problem
This study was undertaken to evaluate whether the anti-GnRH antibodies and immune complexes (IC) generated by immunization with GnRH-TT cause cellular damage within the animal.

Method of study
Chronic immunization of rats with GnRH-TT injected i.m. was followed by tissue/organ analysis for immune complex deposition by immunofluorescence microscopy. Two groups were studied: (1) those immunized throughout the experiment until their ultimate demise, and (2) those given a chance to recover from the effects of chronic immunization before final analysis.

Results
GnRH-TT was effective in stopping spermatogenesis, which resumed after withdrawal of the immunogen. Most tissues from chronically immunized animals were not significantly different than controls, however the kidneys of treated animals exhibited a higher accumulation of IC. Despite increased IC deposition, pathologic effects were not detected at the cellular level.

Conclusions
GnRH-TT is an effective immunocontraceptive although the accumulation of glomerular IC represents a potential deleterious side effect.

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