Diagnosis based on sperm messenger RNA

2002/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza

In the US, researchers at the Michigan National Medical University have identified 3,000 RNA sperm messengers. Messenger RNA is the means that are generated during the production of DNA proteins and always appear in healthy sperm. So they have formed a kind of ‘fingerprint’ of healthy sperm. Therefore, rapid diagnoses can be made; to know if the sperm is healthy, it is enough to compare the ‘fingerprint’ of the messenger RNA.

So far, to diagnose male infertility, the shape and movement of sperm were studied. However, some assisted reproduction methods may also be helpful for abnormal looking sperm. For example, in the intracytoplasmic injection of sperm, a single sperm is injected into the egg, which allows fertilization of the egg even if it has no movement. Yes, your genetic material must be healthy. The method based on RNA allows to know the state of the genetic material.