Male birth control injection causes reversible infertility in mice

[Pelican Press 0]

Male birth control injection causes reversible infertility in mice

******’s ability to move plays a big role in male fertility

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A compound that renders ****** immobile has shown promise as a reversible form of contraception in mice.

The choices of birth control for men are limited to using condoms or having a vasectomy. “We definitely need more options,” says

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at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

Now, he and his colleagues have identified a potential new target — a protein expressed by the gene STK33 that is found in high concentrations in the testes of mice and men.

“In the absence of the STK33 protein, mice and human ****** wind up having very abnormal ****** tails, which causes motility defects,” says Matzuk. Studies have also shown that

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due to having malformed ******.

To identify a compound that could bind to and inhibit the activity of the STK33 protein, the team combed through a library containing billions of chemicals, looking for a suitable molecule. Eventually, they found a candidate called CDD-2807.

Next, the team injected six male mice with CDD-2807 twice a day for 21 days and another seven male mice once a day for the same amount of time. After those three weeks, they housed all the male mice with females, while continuing the treatment for around another 40 days.

Only one mouse across both groups had impregnated a female by the end of the 40 days. That mouse only sired one pup, whereas mice litters typically have up to six pups, a sign that the treatment still reduced its fertility. No side effects were recorded. Three weeks after stopping the treatment, the researchers found that the mice’s infertility reversed and they were able to reproduce as normal.

Matzuk says they now hope to test an ***** version of the treatment in primates.

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at Cornell University in New York says the paper is “very solid”, but that a not-yet-approved gel called NES/T, containing synthetic progesterone and testosterone, may work faster than targeting STK33 in people. The same would probably also be true for a contraceptive that

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, which is involved in ****** production, he says.

Topics:

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birth control
#Male #birth #control #injection #reversible #infertility #mice

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