New approaches for male contraception

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The ability to freely decide whether or not to have children is a key aspect of personal autonomy. At the same time, young people in particular are calling for contraceptive methods with fewer side effects, non-hormonal alternatives, and a broader range of options that distribute the responsibility more equally between partners. Against this background, there is a growing demand for safe, effective, and reversible forms of contraception for men.

This is where the interdisciplinary research project “ContraPur” comes in. The collaboration brings together researchers from five German universities to develop a novel, non-hormonal contraceptive method for men. The project is coordinated by Professor Marc Spehr, who holds the Chair of Chemosensory Science at RWTH Aachen University. Other project partners include LMU, the University of Bonn, Justus Liebig University Giessen, and the University of Münster. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space is funding the project with approximately three million euros over a three-year period.

The goal is to decipher the underlying molecular and physiological processes in the testes and, in the long term, to influence them in targeted ways. Eventually this could make it possible to block sperm transport and render men temporarily infertile – without permanently affecting their fertility.

“With ContraPur, we’re pursuing a completely new approach in contraceptive research,” explains Spehr. “Our goal is to develop a safe, reversible, and non-hormonal method that opens up new opportunities for men regarding family planning while also contributing to the fairer distribution of responsibility.”

Development of potential drug candidates

At the heart of the research project is an understudied biological process that regulates the transport of sperm in the testes – so-called purinergic signaling. This process is triggered by the endogenous molecule ATP, which is known primarily as the universal energy currency of the cell. Recent studies from collaborating groups within the consortium show that ATP also plays a key role in triggering contractions in the muscle cells (peritubular cells) that surround the seminiferous tubules. These contractions ensure that mature but still immotile sperm are transported within the testes. The researchers plan to investigate the genes, proteins, and signaling pathways involved in these contractions. The project is designed as a structured, closely interconnected research program comprising several subprojects.

One of the main focuses of the project will be on the development of potential drug candidates that are suitable for human application. The subproject in this area will be led by Professor Artur Mayerhofer from the Biomedical Center at LMU. Among other things, the LMU researchers plan to carry out proof-of-concept experiments with certain human testicular cells (peritubular cells) and test promising drug candidates. This will primarily involve investigating to what extent this contractility affects these cells. “Our goal is to obtain new insights into testicular physiology and specifically test drugs in order to ultimately create a safe and accepted alternative to existing contraception,” says Mayerhofer.