Mouse Gene May Shed Light on Human Infertility

A recently discovered gene is important for letting embryos develop in mice, a study finds, and the researchers say the work might shed light on unexplained infertility in women.

There’s no direct evidence yet for any connection to women’s infertility, said researcher Dr. Lawrence Nelson of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Scientists are still trying to find the gene’s counterpart in people, he said.

Nelson and colleagues reported in the November issue of Nature Genetics that the mouse gene, called Mater, is essential for embryonic development. In female mice that lacked the gene, embryos failed to develop beyond two cells. Males without the gene, however, were fertile.

Nelson said the gene may play some role in an important transition, when an embryo shifts from using just the mother’s genes to using the combination of genes inherited from the mother and father. In mice, that happens at the two-cell stage, just when the gene’s role appears to be essential, he said.