Atmospheric conditions prevent the sperm from reaching the egg

Atmospheric conditions prevent the sperm from reaching the egg

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  • There are questions about reproduction beyond Earth
  • Australian scientists simulated microgravity in the laboratory
  • The sperm system was disrupted, fertilization improved
  • Prolonged microgravity hindered embryo development
WASHINGTON, March 30 (Reuters) – As mankind continues to achieve the goal of establishing a long-term presence on the moon and Mars, the question of whether reproduction is possible elsewhere may no longer be a mere hypothesis. And new research using microgravity conditions has revealed some major problems.

Experiments conducted by Australian scientists have found that microgravity conditions, simulated in the laboratory, interfere with sperm movement, reduce fertilization rates, and when exposed for a long time, damage the quality and survival of the first eggs.

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They found that human and mouse sperm cells were 50% less efficient when swimming through a channel that mimics the female reproductive tract under these conditions compared to normal gravity. In mouse eggs, this translated into a drop of about 30% in fertilization efficiency. Research has also revealed problems with early embryo development.

The human body has evolved over millions of years to adapt to the Earth’s environment, including its gravity, and travel beyond Earth’s boundaries to cause many physical changes that affect human life.
The United States, through NASA’s Artemis program, plans to land astronauts on the moon in the coming years, as does China.
“With the Artemis program actively working to return people to the moon and serious projects underway for the missions of the Mars crew, the ability to reproduce beyond the Earth is an important thing for any long-term space,” said reproductive scientist Nicole McPherson, who leads the Group of Sperm and Embryo Biology at the Adelaide University Center, published in the Biology Research Institute of Australia.opens a new tab.

“That includes not only human reproduction but also animals and agricultural species that any sustainable environment can depend on,” said McPherson, who is also director of research and diagnostic laboratories at Genea, one of Australia’s leading IVF providers.

Fertilization occurs when a man’s sperm travels through a woman’s reproductive tract and penetrates an egg, and the genes of the two cells combine. The new study is the first to show that gravity plays an important role in the sperm’s ability to travel to the egg.

“It is not the ability to swim that is involved. The sperm in “microgravity” is moving, it cannot find its way. The work that seems to be disrupted is the movement, the ability to move and move purposefully to the destination. We believe that this happens because many proteins on the surface of the sperm act as mechanosensors, small molecular devices said.

“When that gravity is removed, these sensors seem to be thrown away, leaving the seed with no reliable frame of reference for going up, down or which way it’s going. It’s almost like trying to walk a maze blindfolded and spinning,” McPherson said.

Adding progesterone, a female hormone that is released naturally during ovulation as a chemical signal that helps sperm find their way, has helped many sperm overcome the negative effects of microgravity.

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To simulate microgravity, the researchers used a device that causes the cells to experience a state similar to an infinite weightless fall in space. To test the motility, they used a plastic chamber with narrow channels open at both ends, and the sperm should move from one end to the other.

There was about a 50% reduction in the number of human and mouse sperm that successfully navigated in microgravity compared to normal gravity.

For mouse eggs, there was a 30% reduction in successful fertilization after four to six hours of microgravity compared to normal gravity. Embryos that were able to form under microgravity appeared to be of higher quality, with more cells that would go on to form a fetus.

“This suggests that brief exposure to microgravity can act as a sort of filter, and only sperm and embryos are effective,” said McPherson.

But when mouse embryos were exposed to microgravity during the first 24 hours after conception – when the genes from both parents come together for the first time – fewer eggs were formed, and which showed signs of developmental delay and a reduction in the number of cells in the early stages.

There have been similar embryo studies using pig cells.

“The most obvious conclusion is that breeding in space is going to be a lot more difficult than most people think, and that the problems arise on many levels, not just one,” McPherson said.

Reports on Will Dunham; Edited by Daniel Wallis

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