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"It has been estimated that more than 80 million people in the world have an unfulfilled desire to have children. But for every 10th couple, the reasons therefor remain unclear. Now, researchers from the Leibniz Institute on Aging (FLI) in Jena/Germany have, together with clinical partners, found a new gene mutation that obviously leads to infertility in women.
The mutated gene WT1 plays an important role in the early embryonic development controlling proteins (especially proteases) that are needed for the successful nidation in mother's womb. The astonishing results were recently published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
For many couples, starting an own family remains an unfulfilled dream. According to estimations, this is true for about 80 million people worldwide. Some fight for years to have own children; some stay childless without any medical indication. Now, researchers from Leibniz Institute on Aging -- Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) in Jena/Germany in collaboration with clinical partners discovered a formerly unknown gene mutation that could at least partly explain unwanted childlessness. The study's results were recently published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.
Newly discovered mutation of gene WT1
In collaboration with the Sophien and Hufeland Hospital Weimar and the Heidelberg University Women's Hospital, researchers from FLI's research group of Christoph Englert investigated samples of women younger than 40 years that suffer from unwanted childlessness. In one out of eight women, the gene WT1 showed a previously unknown mutation in one of its two alleles. "This result was really surprising," explains Dr. Abinaya Nathan, who is the study's first author. "Up to now, WT1 was only known as tumor suppressor gene important for the development and maintenance of organs like heart or kidney." But which role does this gene play with regard to fertility?..."
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