New Discovery Could Lead to Male Contraception Drug

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, January 2, 2007; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new discovery may mean a contraception drug for men may be on the way.

Researchers from the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Va., have found a new protein within a sperm's tail that could lead to the new male contraception. The protein is called sperm flagellar energy carrier (SFEC). SFEC works like a shuttle bus inside cells, binding and exchanging energy-carrying molecules called ATP and ADP.

Scientists and contraceptive drug developers are interested in the discovery of SFEC because of its location in the sperm and the kind of energy-making process that occurs there.

"One approach to male contraception is to disable sperm from swimming, and we think SFEC may be able to play a role in that process," says study author John Herr, Ph.D.

Dr. Herr says his research team has been looking for such proteins because of the high interest in developing new male contraceptives.

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SOURCE: Developmental Biology, published online December 20, 2006