* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, October 17, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Bricktown continues to thrive as OKC’s entertainment district – OKC VeloCity

    Bricktown Shines as Oklahoma City’s Premier Entertainment Hotspot

    This Haunting ‘60s Country Song Is Even More Tragic Than You Remember – Yahoo

    This Haunting ’60s Country Song Will Break Your Heart All Over Again

    Arts/Entertainment: ‘Wait Until Dark’ brings spooky season center stage – Times Herald Online

    Wait Until Dark’ Delivers Chilling Thrills Perfect for the Spooky Season

    Bluesman James Montgomery Will Perform In Falmouth – CapeNews.net

    Blues Legend James Montgomery Ready to Ignite the Stage in Falmouth

    Mexican singer Pedro Fernández to make Ave Fénix tour stop in Stockton. Tickets, schedule – Yahoo

    Mexican Singer Pedro Fernández Brings the Ave Fénix Tour to Stockton – Don’t Miss It!

    Flutter Entertainment’s SWOT Analysis: Uncovering the Growth Potential Amid Challenges

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Spanning the Gulf: Global Defence Technology 155 – Army Technology

    Spanning the Gulf: Exploring Cutting-Edge Global Defence Technology

    A Nobel Prize for explaining when technology leads to growth – NPR

    Nobel Prize Awarded for Unraveling How Technology Drives Economic Growth

    Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever – The Conversation

    Erie Canal’s 200th Anniversary: How a Trade Marvel Transformed the Environment Forever

    Day 5 of Gains Streak for Solidion Technology Stock with 475% Return (vs. -20% YTD) [10/14/2025] – Trefis

    Solidion Technology Stock Rockets for 5th Consecutive Day, Soaring an Astonishing 475% Year-to-Date

    Tracking DNA and RNA Together To Unlock Disease Insights – Technology Networks

    Unlocking Disease Insights by Tracking DNA and RNA Together

    The future of battery technology – Engineer Live

    Revolutionizing Energy: Exploring the Future of Battery Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Bricktown continues to thrive as OKC’s entertainment district – OKC VeloCity

    Bricktown Shines as Oklahoma City’s Premier Entertainment Hotspot

    This Haunting ‘60s Country Song Is Even More Tragic Than You Remember – Yahoo

    This Haunting ’60s Country Song Will Break Your Heart All Over Again

    Arts/Entertainment: ‘Wait Until Dark’ brings spooky season center stage – Times Herald Online

    Wait Until Dark’ Delivers Chilling Thrills Perfect for the Spooky Season

    Bluesman James Montgomery Will Perform In Falmouth – CapeNews.net

    Blues Legend James Montgomery Ready to Ignite the Stage in Falmouth

    Mexican singer Pedro Fernández to make Ave Fénix tour stop in Stockton. Tickets, schedule – Yahoo

    Mexican Singer Pedro Fernández Brings the Ave Fénix Tour to Stockton – Don’t Miss It!

    Flutter Entertainment’s SWOT Analysis: Uncovering the Growth Potential Amid Challenges

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Spanning the Gulf: Global Defence Technology 155 – Army Technology

    Spanning the Gulf: Exploring Cutting-Edge Global Defence Technology

    A Nobel Prize for explaining when technology leads to growth – NPR

    Nobel Prize Awarded for Unraveling How Technology Drives Economic Growth

    Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever – The Conversation

    Erie Canal’s 200th Anniversary: How a Trade Marvel Transformed the Environment Forever

    Day 5 of Gains Streak for Solidion Technology Stock with 475% Return (vs. -20% YTD) [10/14/2025] – Trefis

    Solidion Technology Stock Rockets for 5th Consecutive Day, Soaring an Astonishing 475% Year-to-Date

    Tracking DNA and RNA Together To Unlock Disease Insights – Technology Networks

    Unlocking Disease Insights by Tracking DNA and RNA Together

    The future of battery technology – Engineer Live

    Revolutionizing Energy: Exploring the Future of Battery Technology

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Health

Why do some men not produce sperm? Scientists uncover one underlying reason for male infertility

October 20, 2023
in Health
Why do some men not produce sperm? Scientists uncover one underlying reason for male infertility
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Why do some men not produce sperm?

Microscopy images showing normal seminiferous tubules in control testes with mature sperm (black arrow: left) but smaller empty seminiferous tubules in testes harboring a synaptonemal complex protein point mutation (black asterisk: right). Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Millions of couples worldwide experience infertility with half of the cases originating in men. For 10% of infertile males, little or no sperm are produced. Now, new research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, in collaboration with the Wellcome Center for Cell Biology at the University of Edinburgh, is shedding light on what may be going wrong in the process of sperm formation, leading to potential theories on possible treatments.

“A significant cause of infertility in males is that they just cannot make sperm,” said Stowers Investigator Scott Hawley, Ph.D. “If you know exactly what is wrong, there are technologies emerging right now that might give you a way to fix it.”

The study published on October 20, 2023, in Science Advances from the Hawley Lab and Wellcome Center Investigator Owen Davies, Ph.D., may help explain why some men do not make enough sperm to fertilize an egg.

In most sexually-reproducing species, including humans, a critical protein structure resembling a lattice-like bridge needs to be built properly to produce sperm and egg cells. The team led by former Postdoctoral Research Associate Katherine Billmyre, Ph.D., discovered that in mice, changing a single and very specific point in this bridge caused it to collapse, leading to infertility and thus providing insight into human infertility in males due to similar problems with meiosis.

Stowers scientists collaborate to uncover one underlying reason for male infertility. The study published on October 20, 2023, in Science Advances from the Hawley Lab and Wellcome Centre Investigator Owen Davies, Ph.D., may help explain why some men do not make enough sperm to fertilize an egg. Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Meiosis, the cell division process giving rise to sperm and eggs, involves several steps, one of which is the formation of a large protein structure called the synaptonemal complex. Like a bridge, the complex holds chromosome pairs in place enabling necessary genetic exchanges to occur that are essential for the chromosomes to then correctly separate into sperm and eggs.

“A significant contributor to infertility is defects in meiosis,” said Billmyre. “To understand how chromosomes separate into reproductive cells correctly, we are really interested in what happens right before that when the synaptonemal complex forms between them.”

Previous studies have examined many proteins comprising the synaptonemal complex, how they interact with each other, and have identified various mutations linked to male infertility. The protein the researchers investigated in this study forms the lattices of the proverbial bridge, which has a section found in humans, mice, and most other vertebrates suggesting it is critical for assembly. Modeling different mutations in a potentially crucial region in the human protein enabled the team to predict which of these might disrupt protein function.

Why do some men not produce sperm?

Model of the synaptonemal complex in control and mutant mice. The protein the team investigated (SYCP1) forms normally, and all additional necessary proteins are recruited. In the mutant, SYCP1 localizes to the chromosome axes but does not successfully form the bridge-like structure (head-to-head interactions), and the additional proteins that help keep the bridge intact are either missing or not properly organized. Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research

The authors used a precise gene editing technique to make mutations in one key synaptonemal complex protein in mice, which allowed the researchers, for the first time, to test the function of key regions of the protein in live animals. Just a single mutation, predicted from the modeling experiments, was verified as the culprit of infertility in mice.

“We’re talking about pinpoint surgery here,” said Hawley. “We focused on a tiny little region of one protein in this gigantic structure that we were pretty sure could be a significant cause of infertility.”

Why do some men not produce sperm?

Representative testes from nine-week-old control mice (left) and mice with a point mutation in one synaptonemal complex protein (right). Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research

Mice have long been used as models for human diseases. From the modeling experiments using human protein sequences, along with the high conservation of this protein structure across species, the precise molecule that caused infertility in mice likely functions the same way in humans.

“What is really exciting to me is that our research can help us understand this really basic process that is necessary for life,” said Billmyre.

For Hawley, this research is a true representation of the versatility of the Institute. Hawley’s lab typically conducts research in fruit flies, yet the protein discovered in this study was not present in fruit flies and demanded a different research organism to continue. Because of the resources and Technology Centers at the Institute, it was possible to quickly pivot and test the new infertility hypothesis in mice.

Additional authors include Emily A. Kesler, Dai Tsuchiya, Ph.D., Timothy J. Corbin, Kyle Weaver, Andrea Moran, Zulin Yu, Ph.D., Lane Adams, Kym Delventhal, Michael Durnin, Ph.D., and Owen Richard Davies, Ph.D.

More information:
Katherine Billmyre et al, SYCP1 head-to-head assembly is required for chromosome synapsis in mouse meiosis, Science Advances (2023). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adi1562. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi1562

Citation:
Why do some men not produce sperm? Scientists uncover one underlying reason for male infertility (2023, October 20)
retrieved 20 October 2023
from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-men-sperm-scientists-uncover-underlying.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Medical Xpress – https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-10-men-sperm-scientists-uncover-underlying.html

Tags: healthProduceSperm
Previous Post

Pembrolizumab in First-Line Boosts PFS in HER2-Positive Stomach Cancer

Next Post

High risk for psychiatric disorders seen before dementia diagnosis

Wisconsin Science Festival Marks 15 Years of Family-Friendly Fun and Discovery

October 17, 2025
Why are humans religious? Scientists are studying miracles to find out. – National Geographic

Why Do Humans Believe in Miracles? Scientists Explore the Mystery of Religion

October 17, 2025
Man Missing His Dog While at the Club Is Far Too Relatable – Yahoo

Man Missing His Dog While at the Club Is Far Too Relatable – Yahoo

October 17, 2025
Spanning the Gulf: Global Defence Technology 155 – Army Technology

Spanning the Gulf: Exploring Cutting-Edge Global Defence Technology

October 17, 2025
Ohio State vs. Wisconsin prediction, pick, odds, spread, where to watch live – CBS Sports

Ohio State vs. Wisconsin prediction, pick, odds, spread, where to watch live – CBS Sports

October 16, 2025
Equipping agents for the real world with Agent Skills – Anthropic

Unlocking Agent Potential: Mastering Advanced Skills to Tackle Real-World Challenges

October 16, 2025
Comments – The AI boom is propping up the whole economy – Slow Boring

How the AI Boom Is Fueling an Economic Revolution

October 16, 2025
Bricktown continues to thrive as OKC’s entertainment district – OKC VeloCity

Bricktown Shines as Oklahoma City’s Premier Entertainment Hotspot

October 16, 2025
Baylor Partners on Up to $28M Initiative to Build Precision Phage Platform for Promoting Public Health – Baylor University

Baylor Partners on Up to $28M Initiative to Build Precision Phage Platform for Promoting Public Health – Baylor University

October 16, 2025
When Public Lands Get Political: What a Hatch Act Complaint Says About the Future of Conservation – NC State University

When Public Lands Become Political Battlegrounds: What a Hatch Act Complaint Reveals About the Future of Conservation

October 16, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (871)
  • Economy (892)
  • Entertainment (21,764)
  • General (17,637)
  • Health (9,934)
  • Lifestyle (905)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (893)
  • Politics (902)
  • Science (16,103)
  • Sports (21,392)
  • Technology (15,872)
  • World (875)

Recent News

Wisconsin Science Festival Marks 15 Years of Family-Friendly Fun and Discovery

October 17, 2025
Why are humans religious? Scientists are studying miracles to find out. – National Geographic

Why Do Humans Believe in Miracles? Scientists Explore the Mystery of Religion

October 17, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version