The word infertility, when involves the mind, causes tons of worry and discomfort. Infertility is the most important ongoing topic of research worldwide. But still, we don’t know all the possible causes behind Infertility. There are many cases of human infertility where the cause is unknown, as we called unexplained fertility. We all must have studied how the cells divide in our schools as most of the cells within the tissues of most organisms proliferate through vegetative cell division termed mitosis. This is often an endless cycle where one cell doubles its genetic information called chromosomes and further divides equally to make two identical copies of the first cell.
In contrast, germ cell (egg and sperm) cells are produced through a particular sort of cellular division called meiosis, which takes place within the gonads. This process begins like normal mitosis but switches after a while to make four genetically dissimilar germ cells that have half the first cell’s genetic material. The mechanism that causes this switch has been a long-lasting research problem and emerged as a global issue in reproductive medicine.
The cause behind infertility revealed
In a recent study, a group of scientists from Kumamoto University in Japan began to assess the proteins involved in meiosis to explain its development. Using mass spectrometry, the group was ready to identify a gene that acts as a meiosis on-switch named Meiosin” a meiosis initiator. The Meiosin gene has the extremely rare property of becoming activated only at a selected time–just before the start of meiosis within the gonads. In animal experiments, the researchers found that both male and feminine mice became infertile if the Meiosin gene was artificially repressed. Further analysis of the mouse male and feminine gonads clarified that the gene plays an essential role in meiosis activation.
The Meiosin gene acts as an impact tower that, at the same time, switches on many genes for reproductive cell formation, and appears to be involved infertility. The group expects that the invention is going to be a massive breakthrough for reproductive medicine. Even though these trials were executed on laboratory animal models, the Meiosin gene is present in humans. Abnormal meiosis within the eggs of older women can cause chromosomal abnormalities leading to miscarriage or mongolism. And in societies with increased age of the pregnancy, therapies developed from this research could ensure meiosis quality and reduce the instances of those complications.
Genetic Causes of Female Infertility
Many women are unable to conceive and deliver a healthy baby because of some genetic factors. Sometimes this is often caused due to an inherited chromosome abnormality. Other times it’s due to a single-gene defect passed from parent to child. Besides, if other women in your family have had problems conceiving due to premature menopause, endometriosis, or other factors, then she will be at increased risk of a similar problem.
Chromosome abnormalities
Chromosomally abnormal embryos have a slow rate of implantation within the mother’s uterus, often resulting in miscarriages. If an abnormal embryo does implant, the pregnancy should end in miscarriage or the birth of a baby with physical problems, developmental delay, retardation, and others.
There are several sorts of chromosome abnormalities:
- A missing piece of a chromosome (deletion)
- An upside-down chromosome (inversion)
- A change within the gene’s DNA sequence
- Too many or too few chromosomes (aneuploidy)
Chromosome pieces attached to the incorrect chromosome (translocation)
Translocation is that the commonest of those, although a parent who carries a translocation is usually average, his or her embryo may receive an excessive amount of or insufficient genetic material, and a miscarriage often results. Couples with specific chromosome defects may enjoy pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) in conjunction with in vitro fertilization (IVF).
