Decades of research into a “pill for men” have so far remained unsuccessful. US scientists may now have identified a target for future male oral contraceptives: the Arrdc5 gene, which is found exclusively in mammalian and human testicular tissue and plays a crucial role in sperm formation. Defects lead to infertility in men.
Jon Oatley and his team from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, recently published their research results in the journal Nature Communications. “We found that the gene is only expressed in the testicular tissue, nowhere else in the body, and it is expressed by various mammalian species such as mice, pigs, cattle and humans,” the study leader reported, according to the German “Ärzteblatt”.
Drug-based contraceptive options for men have been researched for a long time. The biggest problem is reliability. In contrast to the prevention of ovulation by hormonal contraceptives in women, it is extremely difficult to completely suppress sperm production in men. According to the hopes of the US scientists, the identification of the Arrdc5 gene could make exactly that possible.
