London 9th Sep : A team of international of researchers have created artificial eggs made of thousands of beads each with a different piece of protein to ensure that sperm could form bonds with the beads, increasing the chances of fertilisation.A brand-new protein, dubbed MAIA following MAIA, the Greek goddess of motherhood, is believed to be the one responsible for bringing eggs with sperm for fertilisation.
“Infertility is unproven in the majority of people who struggle to get pregnant naturally.The knowledge we have about the fertility in humans is severely hampered due to ethical concerns and the absence of eggs to study,” said Harry Moore from the University of Sheffield in the UK.
“The innovative artificial fertilization technique that enabled us to discover the MAIA protein will not just enable researchers to better understand processes of female fertility but also open the way for innovative methods to treat infertility, and change the creation of the next generation of contraceptives,” he added.
The research findings that were reported in the journal Science Advances revealed that when the sperm was incubated with the beads, scientists discovered that only a tiny amount of beads contained sperm attached to them.
After several cycles of taking beads that did not have sperm bound the beads, researchers were left with beads that matched one specific protein called MAIA as well as sperm bound to the majority of the beads.
The gene that is associated with MAIA was then introduced into human culture cells, and these were open to sperm in exactly the same way as it does during the natural process of fertilization.
“This discovery of the MAIA protein is a huge step in the right direction in understanding the processes of human fertilization,” said Allan Pacey from the university.
rpd/bg
