Research advances possible birth control pill for men

Michigan State University researchers say they might have discovered the pathway to a male birth control pill.

Scientists using gene editing technology and studying male fertility and infertility discovered they can block the gene that regulates sperm production in mice

In studying the causes of male fertility and infertility and using a new gene editing technology, researchers discovered that they can effectively block the gene that controls sperm production in mice.

Chen Chen, an assistant professor of animal science at Michigan State, told the Detroit Free Press that the findings are a significant step in finding drug treatments that could similarly block the genetic expression of this gene, called PNLDC1, in humans.

“More than 500,000 men get vasectomies every year,” Chen said. “There's a huge market for this research, and now we further understand the genetic underpinnings of sperm development in mammals.

Sterilization was permanent in the mice Chen and his team of researchers analyzed.

“If you delete the gene from birth, it would cause permanent sterility,” he said. “However, because the system we are studying functions both neonatally and post-natally, there is a good chance that if you block the same protein function later on, it would have the same effect ... but it's not affecting permanent sperm production. In order to have a permanent sterilization, you would need to ablate the stem cell pool because the stem cells are the progenitors (of) mature sperm.”

Since mice are mammals and use many of the same genes for reproduction as humans, the findings could further future research on human male contraception as well as animal sterilization, according to a Michigan State news release.

Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991, bschmitt@tribweb.com or via Twitter at @Bencschmitt.