Protein essential for fertilization discovered

Your Melbourne fertility treatment specialists at the Viera Fertility Center work to implement the newest techniques and treatments to help you safely achieve your pregnancy goals. Researchers have no discovered an essential protein heretofore unknown in the fertilization process.

Interacting proteins on the surface of the sperm and the egg have been discovered by researchers. These new proteins are essential to begin mammalian life. These proteins  allow the sperm and egg to recognize one another and offer new paths towards improved fertility treatments and the development of new contraceptives.

A protein on sperm (named the Izumo protein after its discoverer) was identified in 2005. It wasn’t until now, however, that the complementary protein on an egg was identified. A team has identified a single protein that is paired with Izumo and is necessary for fertilization.

At the Viera Fertility Center, we’ve long known that the fertility process remains mysterious in some ways. Now we’re another step closer to understanding why unexplained infertility might be traced to proteins on the sperm and egg.