Male mice injected with a molecule that affects sperm movement were temporarily unable to impregnate a female, showing promise for a new type of birth control drug for people
By Chen Ly
23 May 2024
Sperm’s ability to move plays a big role in male fertility
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A compound that renders sperm 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 Martin Matzuk 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.
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“In the absence of the STK33 protein, mice and human sperm wind up having very abnormal sperm tails, which causes motility defects,” says Matzuk. Studies have also shown that mice and men that lack or have a mutated version of the STK33 gene are infertile due to having malformed sperm.
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.