A newly discovered genetic abnormality that appears to prevent some men from conceiving children could be the key to developing a male contraceptive, said University of Iowa researchers who reported their findings in the April 2 online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

"We have identified CATSPER1 as a gene that is involved in nonsyndromic male infertility in humans, a finding which could lead to future infertility therapies that replace the gene or the protein. But, perhaps even more important, this finding could have implications for male contraception," said Michael Hildebrand, Ph.D., co-lead author of the study and a UI postdoctoral researcher in otolaryngology at the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

The UI research team was led by Richard Smith, M.D., the Sterba Hearing Research Professor and vice-chair of otolaryngology. Matthew Avenarius, now a graduate student at the University of Michigan, was study co-lead author with Hildebrand. Avenarius was a research assistant in Smith's UI lab when the study was done.