Male birth control pill closer with CATSPER1

William Atkins
Saturday, 02 May 2009 18:37

Science - Biology

Cation channels are positively charged ion channels, or pore-forming proteins, that electrochemically control the flow of ions in the membranes surrounding all biological cells.

The researchers involved with the study state in the abstract to this paper, “Male infertility, a common barrier that prevents successful conception, is a reproductive difficulty affecting 15% of couples. Heritable forms of nonsyndromic male infertility can arise from single-gene defects as well as chromosomal abnormalities.”

And, “Although no CATSPER gene has been identified as causative for human male infertility, male mice deficient for members of the CatSper gene family are infertile.”

U.S. researcher Michael Hildebrand (Deptartment of Otolaryngology (Head & Neck Surgery) at the University of Iowa), one of the authors of the study, stated, "We have identified CATSPER1 as a gene that is involved in non-syndromic male infertility in humans, a finding which could lead to future infertility therapies that replace the gene or the protein."

He adds, "But perhaps even more importantly, this finding could have implications for male contraception." [Telegraph.co.uk: "Male contraceptive pill is step closer as faulty gene found that causes infertility"]

Thus, their results indicate that CATSPER1, which has been found to be involved in mice fertility, could also be important in the male fertility in humans.

They suggest that antibodies could be developed in the future to counter CATSPER1 in order to be used as a form of male contraceptive.