Scientists discover gene in human egg that may be necessary for female fertility.(Brief Article)

2002 MAY 30 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Fertility researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered a gene present in the human egg that may be essential for early embryo development.

The gene may also play a role in premature ovarian failure, a mysterious condition in which the ovaries stop functioning years, and sometimes decades, before natural menopause.

"This finding could lead to new insights into the causes of unexplained infertility in women," said Duane Alexander, MD, director of the NICHD. The finding may also lead to a better understanding of the possible role that the immune system may play in some cases of premature ovarian failure."

Zhi-Bin Tong, MD, and his colleagues at NICHD's Developmental Endocrinology Branch published their findings in the April 2002 issue of Human Reproduction. Their discovery builds upon past research conducted with mice. In previous work, the researchers discovered a gene found in female mice, which they called Mater, short for "maternal effect" gene. The mouse Mater gene produces a protein that is essential for a fertilized egg to develop. Female mice lacking the gene produce eggs that cannot survive beyond the 2-cell stage after fertilization. In the current study, the researchers identified a gene in women that appears to be the human counterpart to the mouse Mater gene.

"The identification of a human Mater gene that is similar to the Mater gene found in mice is an important discovery," said Lawrence Nelson, MD, the senior author of the study and a member of NICHD's Developmental Endocrinology Branch. "If the human gene is found to serve the same function as the mouse gene, it may result in a new approach to the study and treatment of female infertility."

The researchers discovered the mouse gene as part of their attempt to better understand premature ovarian failure. In this ...