Want to know how sperm find the egg that is ready to be fertilized in the womb? A study conducted by Dr. Marc Spehr of Rohr University Bochum in Germany managed to identify an olfactory odor on the sperm surface.
Sperma did have Nose
It is known, is tasked with moving the olfactory odor sperm toward the source of a particular aroma. This mechanism implies that the sperm depends on the sense of smell to find eggs that are ready to be fertilized.Once the explanation of Science researchers reported at the end of March. Hopefully, further assessment of this process will one day be useful for researchers to make alternative contraception or even a new means to support fertility.
sperm man
Olfactory odor on the sperm that recognize that the research team identified as hOR17-4. This substance is a group of proteins known as an identifier smell(olfactory receptors), whose task is to detect the scent.
Although many of these groups of proteins found in the nose, some of them, such as hOR17-4, was found in all parts of the body. Previous researchers have known that the olfactory receptors are also found in sperm, but what works in that place is not clearly known.
In his research, Spehr and his colleagues describe hOR17-4 on various chemicals to see which one can make an active protein. From there they found, in the presence of substances called bourgeonal, human sperm become active and start moving toward the source of these chemicals.
Bourgeonal is a synthetic content that is used in perfume and flavor industry-it's not a substance that is used for the body to guide the sperm toward the egg. "We do not see the molecules in bourgeonal there is also on the human body, but is trying to learn its structure. Who knew something had a role in the female genital tract, "said Spehr.
For information only, according to Spehr, researchers have found between 20 to 40 olfactory receptors are like hOR17-4, concentrated in the testicles. However, it remains unclear whether for all sperm reaching the egg using only one protein alone or in full.
In an editorial commenting on the study, Dr. F. Donner Babcock wrote that if the correct sperm used to fertilize the egg smell, this will be useful for handling cases of infertility. "It is not possible a number of clinical infertility is caused by damage to the signal emitted by the egg cell. Or it could be mistranslated sperm received signal, "said Babcock.
Added, in the future, diagnostic tests designed to detect such abnormalities could explain why some people can not get pregnant.