TISSUE-SPECIFICITY OF THE ACROSOMAL PROTEIN SP-10 - A CONTRACEPTIVE VACCINE CANDIDATE MOLECULE

The tissue specificity of the intra-acrosomal protein SP-10 was examin ed by Northern blot and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis. Mess enger RNA from 36 tissues in the female baboon (Papio papio) was isola ted, separated on agarose gels, transferred to nylon, and probed with either SP-10, beta-actin, or cyclophilin cDNA. Northern blots, which w ere processed at both low and high stringency, showed SP-10 to be expr essed exclusively in the testis. The mRNA from each tissue was also re verse transcribed, and both SP-10 and beta-actin were amplified by PCR from the resulting cDNA. Ethidium bromide-stained agarose gels of the SP-10 PCR products showed three clear bands from the testis but no co migrating bands from the other tissues. Southern blots of the PCR prod ucts showed that only the three bands in the testis were related to SP -10. The data demonstrate that the SP-10 gene products are testis spec ific, a characteristic essential for a contraceptive vaccine candidate molecule.