While women have used oral contraceptives for some time, men have been limited to two mechanical options for preventing unwanted pregnancies: condoms and vasectomy. This situation may change, thanks to the discovery of genes that are exclusively expressed in testicular tissue in multiple mammals, including humans. Disabling this gene alters the shape and function of sperm, and researchers believe that an oral drug for men that works while taking it and allows sperm to resume normal function when the drug is stopped. I’m hoping it will lead to birth control pills.
Researchers at Washington State University have found a gene called Arrdc5 in porcine, bovine, mouse and human testicular tissue. When they disabled it in mice, it stopped production of a protein that causes rodents to develop a condition known as oligoastenoteratospermia (OAT), the most common cause of male infertility in humans. It’s a common cause.
This condition resulted in 98% of the sperm produced by the mice being shaped so that they could not fuse with the egg. Produced 28% less sperm.
Safer option
One of the most obvious ways to alter male fertility is to develop ways to suppress testosterone in the body, a key factor in sperm production. The problem is that testosterone is also heavily involved in red blood cell formation, muscle and bone strength. is what you can do. They also say the treatment may be reversible, but this is not the case with vasectomy, for example.
“We don’t want to wipe out the ability to make sperm. Stop the sperm that are being made from being made right,” says Jon Oatley, senior author and professor in WSU’s Department of Molecular Biology. Then, in theory, the drug can be removed and the sperm will begin to build normally again.”
Because it acts on proteins involved in sperm production, the new findings are similar to those put forward by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine earlier this year. It was 100% effective in doing so.
The lead authors of the study, Autry and Mariana Giacetti, have applied for a provisional patent for a male oral contraceptive based on this discovery, but there is no way to find out how this treatment works in humans. The researchers also say the findings could be used for livestock applications, as a way to control animal populations. However, their main focus is on developing oral contraceptives for men.
“Developing ways to curb population growth and stop unwanted pregnancies is critical to the future of humanity,” Autry said. “Currently, there are no other methods of contraception for men other than surgery, and only a small percentage of men opt for vasectomy. there is potential.”
A study was published in a journal Nature Communications.
Source: Washington State University
