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E u r o p e a n C o n g r e s s o n
Vaccines & Vaccination
and Gynecologic Oncology
Journal of Clinical Immunology and Allergy
ISSN: 2471-304X
O c t o b e r 2 6 - 2 7 , 2 0 1 8
B u d a p e s t , H u n g a r y
Vaccines & Vaccination and Gynecologic Oncology 2018
Page 22
Leonardo Saenz Iturriaga et al., Journal of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Volume: 4
DOI: 10.21767/2471-304X-C2-004
Biography
Leonardo Sáenz Iturriaga is a Veterinary Doctor in Biomedical
Sciences of the University of Chile. He is an Associate Profes-
sor of the Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Sciences of the
University of Chile; Director of the Veterinary Vaccines Labo-
ratory, an University Center. He is specialized in research and
development of vaccines and adjuvants of new generation with
the ultimate goal of transferring technologies to the veterinary
industry. He has multiple articles and patents on recombinant
and subunit veterinary vaccines.
leosaenz@uchile.clStrategies of immunocastration in
mammals
Leonardo Saenz Iturriaga, Daniela Siel,
Sonia Vidal, Mario Maino, Lisette Lapierre
Universidad de Chile, Chile
I
mmunocastration is an immunological strategy used to block the activity of
gonadrotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH-I), thus allowing control of reproductive
activity, fertility, physiological characteristics and sexual behavior in mammals.
This process provides a more humanitarian alternative to classical methods of
controlling sexual behavior in production animals such as surgical castration in
male pigs and bulls, and can also be applied to pets or wild animals. However,
the duration of the immune-contraction effect is limiting, which is a problem
when long-term reproductive and population control are wanted. There are
existing vaccine strategies that vary both in the design of the antigen and use of
different adjuvants, which have proven to be effective in controlling reproductive
activity for short or prolonged periods of time in different animal models. Using
an immunocastration model based on a recombinant antigen, our laboratory has
managed to induce a temporary blockage of GnRH-I, decreasing the production
of sex hormones and blocking fertility, oogenesis and spermatogenesis, thus
reducing sexual behavior in both male and female of different animal species. We
found the duration and potency of the immunocastration effect is strongly linked
to the adjuvant strategy used with correlations to fertility, gonadal function and
hypothalamic GnRH-I expression in immunocastrated animals, making it a vital
component for reproductive control and vaccine design.
Euro Vaccines 2018