Une étude écossaisse publié fin novembre. Ou comment certains processus cellulaires, notamment au niveau chromosomique, pourrait expliquer l'infertilité. Yes, what' else ?
Low fertility and sterility could be explained by fresh insights into the way cells divide during reproduction.
University of Edinburgh research has identified a gene that enables chromosomes – the thread-like structures inside all cells that contain our DNA – to huddle together. Scientists think that this huddling process is necessary to ensure the egg’s healthy development and fertilisation.
After studying hundreds of infertile fruit flies, researchers found that without the gene SRPK, which is present in human and mammalian cells, chromosomes do not cluster. This then leads to sterility and low fertility.
Previous research in mice has shown that this huddling process is essential in order for eggs to remain fertile. By identifying the genes involved in the huddling process, experts now hope to be able to understand what goes on in the creation of fertile reproductive cells.
Professor Hiroyuki Ohkura of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Biological Sciences said: “Fruit fly eggs serve as a good model to understand why sterility and low fertility arises in humans. By studying chromosome clustering and identifying genes like SRPK we are gaining insights into fertility health.
The study, published in the Journal of Cell Science, was funded by the Wellcome Trust.
