Fertility News

Genetic Link to Infertility Discovered in Mice - 06/06/2007

Researchers at Shanghai's Fudan University have found a genetic link to infertility in mice, suggesting the possibility of a similar link in humans. This is the first time that a genetic link to infertility has been discovered in mammals.

The finding came after researchers studied a protein identified as SUN1 that is found in the nuclear membrane of mice cells in 2003. When researchers deliberately broke the protein, the pairing and recombination that occurs normally in chromosomes during the reproductive process in sexual cells was interrupted.

Mice born with a broken SUN1 protein had smaller testes or ovaries compared to normal mice and were also unable to produce sperm or eggs, meaning that the broken protein affects both male infertility and female infertility.

Mice and humans share approximately 99% of the genes that influence reproduction. However, more research needs to be carried out to see how the finding might be applied to the treatment of human infertility.

Ten to fifteen percent of couple's worldwide experience infertility problems, a figure that is roughly the same in China. Environmental factors, such as rising pollution levels, have contributed to growing concerns about infertility.

Source: Shanghai Daily

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