
Spokesperson Jörg Gromoll, project manager Cristin Beumer and research coordinator Frank Tüttelmann (from left) are delighted at the renewed funding. © Fotozentrale UKM
By analysing the genomes of more than 1,000 infertile patients, the research group was able to demonstrate that mutations or deletions in the DNA lead to no, or only a small amount of, sperm being formed - or to a reduction in the motility of the sperm, rendering them incapable of fertilizing an egg. These analyses are important for learning more about the genetic causes of infertility and are the necessary basis for any possible treatment.
In the coming three years, the team of researchers will be working together with several clinics and institutions among them the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Biomedicine in Münster to find out more about the genetic and epigenetic causes of infertility and about the three-dimensional DNA structure which plays a decisive role in sperm function. By means of such innovative technologies as single-cell analyses and modern bioinformatics, the complex process of sperm formation will provide new insights into germ cells and hormone-producing testicular cells. "In the process, machine learning - in other words, artificial intelligence - will play an important role as this technology will decisively influence future diagnoses of patients," explains Prof. Jörg Gromoll from the Centre for Reproductive Medicine and Andrology, who is the Clinical Research Unit’s spokesperson. "We are developing programmes," he adds, "which will target and recognise possible causes of infertility and thus provide the doctor involved with valuable information for diagnosis and treatment."