An international research team from the University of Saskatchewan (U of Sask.) has discovered that a protein in semen acts on the female brain to prompt ovulation.
This protein is the same molecule that regulates the growth, maintenance, and survival of nerve cells, according to a U of Sask. press release.
The research appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Aug. 20.
“Male mammals have accessory sex glands that contribute seminal fluid to semen, but the role of this fluid and the glands that produce it are not well understood,” stated the press release.
“From the results of our research, we now know that these glands produce large amounts of a protein that has a direct effect on the female,” said Gregg Adams, lead researcher and professor of veterinary biomedical sciences at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at U of Sask.
The protein, which researchers are calling the ovulation-inducing factor (OIF), has been found in all mammals that the researchers tested.
These included llamas, cattle, pigs, and humans, and is vital to the reproduction of mammals, according to the U of Sask. press release.
The OIF is the same molecule as the nerve growth factor (NGF) protein, which is found in nerve cells all throughout the body.
The team also experimented with llamas, who are “induced ovulators” who ovulate only when inseminated, and cattle, who, like humans, are “spontaneous ovulators,” that have a regular buildup of hormones to stimulate the release of an egg, according to the press release.
The team found the OIF and NGF in both species were relatively the same size and produced the same effects.
“The idea that a substance in mammalian semen has a direct effect on the female brain is a new one,” Adams explains.
“This latest finding broadens our understanding of the mechanisms that regulate ovulation and raises some intriguing questions about fertility.”
The research was funded by various councils and foundations in Canada and Chile, including the Alpaca Research Foundation.
