
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, March 19, 1992                   TAG: 9203190112
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SPERM PROTEIN IS LINKED TO KEY CONCEPTION ROLE

In a development with major potential impact on birth control and male infertility, as well as several other areas of medical research, California researchers have identified a long-sought protein that plays a key role in conception.

The protein, found on the surface of sperm, controls the fusion of sperm with an egg, the crucial event in fertilization, University of California-San Francisco biologist Judith White and her colleagues report today in the British journal Nature.

Preliminary studies in animals show that blocking the action of the protein potentially can prevent pregnancy without the disturbing side effects of hormonal manipulation. Studies also suggest that a defect in the protein may be the cause of defective sperm, according to reproductive biologist John Aitken of the Medical Research Council in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The new research also may offer insights into a variety of related problems. Because the newly discovered protein, called PH-30, is similar to proteins used by viruses to infect cells, further research may lead to new ways to inhibit viral infections.

In an editorial accompanying White's paper, Aitken noted that researchers have been attempting to define the precise molecular events of fertilization for decades. The discovery could lead to the development of a host of new drugs and vaccines for manipulating reproductive processes in both men and women, he said.

by CNB