Potential breakthrough for birth control pill for MEN if scientists discover a gene that can temporarily disable sperm
- The Washington State University team found a gene while doing research on rodents
- Blocking or deactivating it with drugs leads to a reduced sperm count
- But simply stopping the medication could reactivate the gene
A breakthrough in DNA research could lead to a reversible male contraceptive that works by causing temporary infertility.
Scientists have discovered a gene responsible for normal sperm production in humans and other mammals.
Blocking or deactivating it with drugs leads to decreased sperm count, decreased movement and an abnormal shape, a new study finds.
But simply stopping the medication can reactivate the gene and allow the patient to produce normal sperm again, experts suggest.
It comes as US government-funded researchers move closer to developing a functional contraceptive pill for men.
The research could mean we’re one step closer to the male contraceptive pill
A team from Washington State University used lab mice to see if deactivating the Arrdc5 gene would affect their fertility.
Analysis revealed that these mice produced 28 percent less sperm than their normal counterparts, and that most of this sperm was damaged and moved nearly three times slower.
Professor Jon Oatley, one of the study’s authors, said: ‘The study identifies for the first time that this gene is only expressed in testicular tissue, nowhere else in the body.
“When this gene is inactivated or inhibited in men, they make sperm that cannot fertilize an egg, and that is an important target for male contraceptive development.”
Targeting male fertility in this way would not require hormonal interference, the team said, and the process could be reversible.
“You don’t want to erase the ability to ever make sperm – just stop the sperm being made from being made correctly,” Professor Oatley said.
“Then, in theory, you could remove the drug and the sperm could build up normally again.”
Having a male contraceptive that doesn’t rely on hormones is important because testosterone plays different roles than sperm production in men, the researchers said.
While other male contraceptives are currently being tested, the only options available at the moment are a vasectomy or condoms.
As a result of their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers are now working on a drug for humans and have filed a patent for a contraceptive that blocks the protein made by this gene.
“Developing a way to slow population growth and stop unwanted pregnancies is very important for the future of humanity,” added Professor Oatley.
“Right now on the male side we don’t really have anything for birth control other than surgery and only a small percentage of men opt for vasectomy.
‘If we can develop this discovery into a solution for contraception, it could have far-reaching consequences.’
Earlier this year, individual scientists announced they had found an equivalent to the male contraceptive pill that could be taken half an hour before sex.
Used in mice, the treatment prevented 100 percent of pregnancies for about two hours by preventing sperm from swimming toward eggs, or maturing so it could fertilize an egg to create a baby.
The researchers, from Cornell University in New York, said they hope it can be used by men, last for 16 hours and then taper off the next day.