THE development of a non-hormonal male contraceptive may be within reach thanks to a Hunter researcher's world-first body of work.
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Dr David Skerrett-Byrne, a post-doctural fellow working with the Hunter Medical Research Institute's Infertility and Reproduction Research Program, has profiled 6000 sperm proteins to build on growing evidence that men's reproductive health is inextricably linked to their overall health.
Dr Skerrett-Byrne said by better understanding what happens to sperm as it passes through the epididymis - the small tube that connects the testes to the vas deferens - they could start to further understand the causes of infertility.
But they were also "very hopeful" this work may help shape and change the approach to men's contraceptives in the future by supporting the creation of a "non-hormonal" option for men.
"As sperm travel through the epididymis, they undergo profound changes," Dr Skerrett-Byrne said.
"Key among these changes is a substantive remodelling of the protein composition of the sperm architecture, the scale of which has yet to be fully resolved."
Profiling thousands of sperm proteins at various stages of maturity could help them identify ways to damage or inhibit certain proteins that play a role in conception.
Dr Skerrett-Byrne said proteins in sperm undergo a process called phosphorylation, and this process either activates or deactivates the protein.
"Identifying these proteins and then taking them through a process of phosphorylation helps us understand the process that switches proteins on and off," Dr Skerrett-Byrne told the Newcastle Herald.
"The potential for this is that we could eventually use drugs to target specific proteins, and maybe even create a non-hormonal male contraceptive."
Dr Skerrett-Byrne said IVF research had so far focused predominantly on female reproductive health, despite 55-to-65 per cent of problems caused my male infertility.
"IVF focuses on ejaculate and how well sperm is moving, rather than look at the immature sperm and watching how it changes," Dr Skerrett-Byrne said.
"There is still so much we need to learn.
"We have profiled 6000 sperm proteins.
"Prior to this work, there were a little over 1000."
Dr Skerrett-Byrne's findings have been published in a Cell Reports paper.
Profiling these proteins builds on growing research from the University of Newcastle and HMRI into what is contributing the global male infertility crisis.
But Dr Skerrett-Byrne said the potential applications for this work went beyond infertility.
Dr Skerrett-Byrne explained there was increasing recognition that male reproductive health is linked to overall health, and sperm was "under-utilised" in measuring men's health.
There was an opportunity to include sperm screening in routine health tests, such as blood, stool and urine tests as a indicator of men's overall health.
"We envision the most immediate clinical impact of this work will be on the detection of defects in sperm maturation causally associated with male infertility," he said.
"Additionally, poor semen parameters are a bit like a 'canary in the coal mine' - foreshadowing the onset of a range of co-morbidities.
"Our protein resources may be applied to help predict the long-term health of individuals."
We envision the most immediate clinical impact of this work will be on the detection of defects in sperm maturation causally associated with male infertility, Additionally, poor semen parameters are a bit like a 'canary in the coal mine' - foreshadowing the onset of a range of co-morbidities.
- Dr David Skerrett-Byrne
Anita Beaumont
Anita Beaumont is a health and general news reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
Anita Beaumont is a health and general news reporter at the Newcastle Herald.
