The long elusive male contraceptive! Several previous discoveries were made and attempts were tried, but will it happen this time? It sounds very promising this time!
It has been so unfair that men have been without better contraceptives for so many decades! The first oral contraceptive for women was approved in 1960! What a stain on gender equality! (Caution: Satire)
"... the discovery of a gene that is only expressed in testicular tissue in multiple mammals, including humans. Disabling the gene changed the shape and function of sperm and has researchers hopeful that it could lead to an oral contraceptive for men that would work while taken, and allow sperm to resume their normal function when stopped. ...
gene dubbed Arrdc5 in the testicular tissue of pigs, cows, mice and humans. When they disabled it in mice, it stopped the production of a protein that led the rodents to develop a condition known as oligoasthenoteratospermia (OAT), the most commonly found cause of male infertility in humans. ..."
gene dubbed Arrdc5 in the testicular tissue of pigs, cows, mice and humans. When they disabled it in mice, it stopped the production of a protein that led the rodents to develop a condition known as oligoasthenoteratospermia (OAT), the most commonly found cause of male infertility in humans. ..."
"... Discovery of a gene in multiple mammalian species could pave the way for a highly effective, reversible and non-hormonal male contraceptive for humans and animals. ...
In the ... study, the male mice lacking this gene produced 28% less sperm that moved 2.8 times slower than in normal mice — and about 98% of their sperm had abnormal heads and mid-pieces. ..."
In the ... study, the male mice lacking this gene produced 28% less sperm that moved 2.8 times slower than in normal mice — and about 98% of their sperm had abnormal heads and mid-pieces. ..."
From the abstract:
"In sexual reproduction, sperm contribute half the genomic material required for creation of offspring yet core molecular mechanisms essential for their formation are undefined. Here, the α-arrestin molecule arrestin-domain containing 5 (ARRDC5) is identified as an essential regulator of mammalian spermatogenesis. Multispecies testicular tissue transcriptome profiling indicates that expression of Arrdc5 is testis enriched, if not specific, in mice, pigs, cattle, and humans. Knockout of Arrdc5 in mice leads to male specific sterility due to production of low numbers of sperm that are immotile and malformed. Spermiogenesis, the final phase of spermatogenesis when round spermatids transform to spermatozoa, is defective in testes of Arrdc5 deficient mice. Also, epididymal sperm in Arrdc5 knockouts are unable to capacitate and fertilize oocytes. These findings establish ARRDC5 as an essential regulator of mammalian spermatogenesis. Considering the role of arrestin molecules as modulators of cellular signaling and ubiquitination, ARRDC5 is a potential male contraceptive target."
ARRDC5 expression is conserved in mammalian testes and required for normal sperm morphogenesis (open access)
Fig. 3: Impact of Arrdc5 genetic inactivation in mice
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