Equality for men may be on the horizon, contraceptive equality, that is. For just over a half century, women have been able to pop a pill to prevent pregnancy, but a pharmaceutical alternative has never emerged for men. Now, research to interfere with the body's ability to use vitamin A is showing some promise, because, in men, vitamin A is necessary for the production of sperm.
When you consume vitamin A, your body converts it into the metabollically active form, retinoic acid, which binds to a protein in your cells called a retinoic acid receptor. Then, the receptor protein can initiate the expression of genes necessary for the creation of sperm, if you are a man. The compound Wolgemuth's team tested blocks the retinoic acid from binding to the receptor and so prevents the formation of new sperm. "The long and short of what we know is vitamin A and its metabolite are absolutely essential for the production of male germ cells, or sperm," she said.
The work by the team from Columbia supports the idea that interfering with the retinoic acid pathway can render male animals temporarily sterile. "The concern I have as a clinician about their approach is retinoic acid has multiple functions in multiple tissues so blocking the activity by blocking the receptor, I have concerns that could cause side effects." Retinoic acid is important for vision, a healthy immune system and other functions.
The Columbia team's latest work is scheduled for presentation today (June 4) at the conference for endocrinologists, ENDO 2011, in Boston. Live Science
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