Pill male : French researchers are exploring a promising lead

phonlamai/epictura

Published the 27.09.2017 at 14: 20

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Keywords :

spermatozoïdeContraception, pill

The greatest discoveries of science are often the result of chance. Male contraception could be among them. French researchers have discovered a promising lead for the development of the contraceptive pill for men while they were working on leukemia. Their work is published in PLOS Genetics.

At the Centre de recherche en cancérologie de Marseille, the team of Michel Aurrand-Lions, trying to understand why and how healthy blood cells to become cancerous. “The heart of our work is to understand if a default expression or regulation of certain proteins present at the cell surface, such as the protein JAM-C, explains the evolution of blood stem cells into a form of cancer,” described the researcher.

However, by studying mice lacking this protein, the researchers found that all the males were sterile. Extensive searches reveal that the protein JAM-C is present both inside and on the surface of sperm cells is involved in their maturation. She would play a vital role at the stage of polarization, which gives the appearance in the tadpole, so characteristic of the male gametes. This step is called spermatogenesis.

Prevent the maturation of sperm

Subsequently, scientists have also found that JAM-C interacts with another protein called GRASP55. “Inhibiting the expression of the gene, we again observed that the males were sterile,” explained the researcher in marseille.

Thus, by blocking the interaction between these two proteins, it would be possible to inhibit the maturation of sperm, and make it sterile, a mouse, or even men. According to the research of scientists in marseille, three molecules could play this role.

New track of research

Studies in mice have shown that the graspine allowed to block transiently spermatogenesis. “Molecules are more stable, must now be developed from this basic pattern” was raised by Michel Aurrand-Lions.

A development which will not contribute for his team. The latter will continue its work on the leukemia. “The inhibition of the interaction between JAM-C and GRASP55 could also intervene in the evolution of stem cells in some leukemia cells. Today, we need to explore this path, ” explained the researcher.