What is male contraception now? Scientists have learned to switch sperm production on and off

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Modern methods of preventing pregnancy are mainly focused on women or are irreversible. Due to the scarcity of effective male contraceptive solutions with a reversible effect worldwide, men primarily have to rely on condoms or vasectomy.

Although vasectomy is a reliable long-term solution and can theoretically be surgically reversed, many men fear this procedure and hesitate to undergo it. Therefore, researchers have been trying for many years to develop a non-hormonal method that would temporarily halt the production of sperm.

The study, reported by The Independent, was the result of six years of experiments on mice. A group of scientists from Cornell University (USA) focused on meiosis – the cell division process through which germ cells are formed. They decided to test whether this mechanism could be temporarily interrupted in such a way that the organism would later be able to return to normal functioning.

It's All About the Molecule

For this, the researchers used the molecule JQ1, which was originally developed as a tool for studying oncological diseases. But now it has been found that JQ1 is also capable of blocking a key stage of meiosis. The drug effectively stopped the development of cells necessary for sperm formation and prevented the activation of genes responsible for subsequent stages of sperm development.

During the experiments, male mice were administered JQ1 for three weeks. During this time, sperm production completely stopped. Simultaneously, important meiotic processes were disrupted in the cells, including chromosome behavior during division.

Павялічыць

Human spermatozoa. Photo: Roland Birke / Getty Images

However, the most important finding was that after stopping the treatment, the organism gradually returned to normal functioning. Approximately six weeks later, sperm production resumed to its usual level.

Furthermore, after the experiment, the mice were able to reproduce again and produced healthy offspring, which also retained the ability to reproduce.

In the future, researchers hope to create a male contraceptive in the form of an injection that would need to be administered approximately once every three months. Before this, however, additional safety checks and clinical trials are required.

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