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THURSDAY, Aug. 21, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- American researchers say they have identified a new sperm protein that plays a key role in fertilization, a finding that may provide important insight into male infertility.
The protein, called SED1, is required for a sperm to bind to an egg during fertilization. It binds specifically to unfertilized eggs and no longer recognizes an egg after it has been fertilized, according to the researchers, from the Emory University Health Sciences Center. Results of their study appear in the Aug. 22 issue of the journal Cell.
In studies with mice, the researchers found that sperm without SED1 were unable to bind to an egg. They also found that mice without SED1 had greatly reduced fertility, even though their sperm appeared normal.
The study may offer clues into what underlies some cases of male infertility. Defects in sperm motility and insufficient sperm production are among the many factors that cause male infertility. But, in many cases the sperm of infertile men seem completely normal.
"An understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying sperm-egg binding may give insight into the basis for at least some percentage of male infertility," researcher Barry D. Shur, chairman of cell biology, says in a news release.
"In addition, this work is of interest because the composition of SED1 is similar to other types of cell-cell binding proteins, which have not previously been implicated in sperm-egg binding," Shur says.
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