Can eating garlic and curry improve sperm vitality? At the 2024 Global Life and Health Technology Concept Verification Competition held in Zhangjiang Sci-Tech City, researcher Li Runsheng from the Shanghai Institute of Biomedicine’s research project is “Diagnostic Kit for Subtypes of Asthenozoospermia.” In recent years, he has led a team to make original discoveries in the field of reproductive science: the level of H3.3 sulfhydryl modification, a type of protein post-translational modification, is positively correlated with sperm vitality, and its modification level is regulated by hydrogen sulfide signaling pathways.
This finding suggests that taking sulfur-containing antioxidants or conducting “dietary supplementation” with sulfur-containing foods may enhance sperm vitality in some patients with asthenozoospermia, providing a new approach to improve male infertility treatment efficacy.
Identifying biomarkers for asthenozoospermia
“Infertility concerns the long-term development of our country’s birth population and socio-economics. Currently, among newlywed couples in our country, 1 in every 6-7 couples faces infertility,” said researcher Li Runsheng. Chinese researchers have found that among infertile couples, the ratio of female infertility to male infertility is approximately 5:5 or 6:4. In terms of male infertility, about 80% of infertility patients have varying degrees of decreased sperm vitality, specifically manifested as asthenozoospermia, oligoasthenozoospermia, and other symptoms. Currently, drug therapy is the main means of treating asthenozoospermia, but the efficacy is quite limited.
It is well known that DNA is the genetic material in cells. In eukaryotic cells, DNA does not exist in isolation but is packaged together with several types of histones to form nucleosomes. Each human cell contains about 20 million nucleosomes. The different histone compositions and various post-translational modifications of histones within these nucleosomes play critical regulatory roles in gene expression and gene repair, making them a hot topic in life sciences research.
The discovery of H3.3 sulfhydryl modification is a significant advancement in this research area. Li Runsheng’s team found that the level of H3.3 sulfhydryl modification is positively correlated with sperm vitality, indicating that it is a biomarker for asthenozoospermia, and the team has been granted a Chinese invention patent.
However, scientifically, correlation does not equal causation. With funding from the National Natural Science Foundation and the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, Li Runsheng’s team studied whether H3.3 sulfhydryl modification plays a critical role in maintaining sperm vitality. They proved through genetically edited mouse models that the downregulation of histone 3.3 sulfhydryl modification indeed leads to a significant decline in sperm vitality. Therefore, it is likely that there exists a subtype of asthenozoospermia characterized by low levels of H3.3 sulfhydryl modification in sperm.
Researcher Li Runsheng (right) exchanges ideas with investor Dr. Xu Rong at Xinzhe Zhixing Port.
Achieving precision medicine for male infertility
Considering that the level of H3.3 sulfhydryl modification in the testes is regulated by hydrogen sulfide signaling pathways and that there are already some drugs on the market that can enhance these pathways, such as alpha-lipoic acid and glutathione, developing a diagnostic kit to identify asthenozoospermia patients with low H3.3 sulfhydryl modification levels could enable precision medicine for this subtype of asthenozoospermia patients.
“It is worth mentioning that precision medicine is an important direction in medical development, and there has not yet been a transition into the era of precision medicine for drug treatments for male infertility,” said Li Runsheng. To achieve precision medicine for male infertility, he plans to develop a diagnostic kit targeting the subtype of asthenozoospermia. He participated in the 2024 Global Life and Health Technology Concept Verification Competition organized by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission and initiated by Xinzhe Zhixing Port Incubator, hoping to gain support from venture capital funds and biopharmaceutical companies to turn this entrepreneurial concept into a product.
If successful, this diagnostic kit or technology could be widely used in hospital reproductive centers, enabling…
