Various forms of birth control have been developed for women; however, there are currently few options for men. The development of male contraceptives that are effective, safe, and reversible is desired for family planning throughout the world. We now report contraception of male nonhuman primates (Macaca radiata) immunized with Eppin, a testis/epididymis-specific protein. Seven out of nine males (78%) developed high titers to Eppin, and all of these high-titer monkeys were infertile. Five out of seven (71%) high-anti-Eppin titer males recovered fertility when immunization was stopped. This study demonstrates that effective and reversible male immunocontraception is an attainable goal. This method of immunocontraception may be extended to humans.

Epididymal secreted proteins promote sperm maturation and fertilizing capacity by interacting with sperm during passage through the epididymis. Here we investigate the molecular basis of sperm maturation by isolating cDNA clones for novel epididymis-specific expressed sequences. Thirty-six novel cDNAs were isolated and sequenced from a subtracted Macaca mulatta epididymis library. The clones encode proteins with a range of motifs characteristic of protein-modifying enzymes, protease inhibitors, hydrophobic ligand-binding and transport proteins, extracellular matrix-interacting proteins, and transcription regulatory factors. The full length coding sequences were obtained for 11 clones representing a range of abundance levels. Expression of each is regionally localized and androgen regulated. The most abundant, ESC42, contains a cysteine-rich region similar to the signature binding domain of the trefoil family of motogenic wound repair proteins. The monkey and human proteins are nearly 90% identical. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that the protein is most abundant in the epithelium of the caput and is also present in the lumen and bound to sperm. The ESC42 gene, located on chromosome 20q11, contains two exons encoding two nearly identical predicted signal peptides and a third exon encoding the rest of the protein.

Seasonal changes in moisture content result in volume change in expansive soils, which may damage structures founded on them. Evaluation of swelling characteristics of expansive soils, namely, swell potential and swelling pressure, is important for the design of foundations. Many relationships have been suggested for prediction of swell potential and swelling pressure from various index properties such as liquid limit, plasticity index, shrinkage index, activity, clay content, etc., and placement conditions such as initial dry unit weight, initial water content and initial surcharge pressure. Free swell index (FSI) indicates the potential expansiveness of a soil. FSI, being determined on the soil fraction <425 μm sieve like the other index properties of clays, is also an index property of an expansive soil. Hence, it can be used as a parameter in the relationships for swell potential and swelling pressure. This paper proposes relationships for predicting swell potential and swelling pressure of remoulded and compacted expansive soils using FSI and placement conditions. The relationships are based on experimental data for soil samples from 10 different sources.