Man, gene mutations and infertility

Friday, September 2, 2011,A new study claims to have found a new factor that contributes to male infertility, a protein that supposedly surrounds the sperm like a coat to help it to swim towards the egg.
Approximately 20% of men can carry gene mutations that allow sperm without the presence of this protein and thus have reduced their fertility. The reproductive tests today can not identify the problem, according to study leader, Dr. TheodoreTollner University of California.
Anywhere in the world than a 10% to 15% of couples live the experience of infertility and doctors can not always find the cause.The lack of sperm count or problems with their shape or ability to move only explain a part of infertility.
This research group has found a new reason, a protein that is part of a family of proteins responsible for the death of microbes and the surfaces are a variety of organic tissue. Secreted when the trip starts of sperm in the female reproductive system and helps the sperm penetrate the mucus present in the cervix of the woman and to avoid treatment as an invader by the immune system. If no specific double gene mutation manifests the lack of overlap.
Sperm in the laboratory that did not have this protein coating difficult (to varying degrees) to penetrate the mucus.
But how is affected fertility?
The researchers followed 500 newly married couples trying to conceive. The birth rate was 30% lower among couples where the husband had a double mutation, the researchers reported in the journal «Science Translational Medicine».
Having only one copy of the mutated gene does not seem to prevent conception. The non-coated seed is not certain that you will always fail, so it is unclear how much this contributes to male infertility altogether.
But creating a test for the diagnosis of these men is easy, according to researchers. Such a review could potentially help faster choice of assisted reproduction, saving money and valuable time in the infertile couple.