Professor’s work on infertility featured in Nature magazine

Professor of molecular biosciences Michael Skinner, director of the Center for Reproductive Biology at Washington State University, collaborated on work that is the subject of an article in the May 5 issue of Nature magazine. The work may lead to new treatments for infertility in women. At present, the cause for infertility is unexplained in about 20 percent of all cases.

In a healthy uterus, the lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), along with its protein receptors (LPA3), which are normally found in cells on the uterine wall, are key to a number of factors that affect pregnancy, including proper implantation of embryos.

Using mice that had been genetically engineered to eliminate their LPA receptors as a model, the team found significant instances of reduced litter size, delayed development of embryos and other abnormal implantation conditions. 

The team, led by Jerold Chun of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., found that, in a uterus with reduced LPA3  receptors, an enzyme, cyclooxygenase 2, which aids in embryo implantation, was also reduced. This, in turn, led to decreased prostaglandins, which are also crucial for implantation.

In experiments designed to correct for the defect, the team administered prostacyclin (a hormone in the prostaglandin family), which partially reversed the results of the condition, giving hope that a drug treatment could be developed to correct the condition in women.

The finding may be of particular importance to women receiving in vitro embryo transplant treatments for infertility since, when such fertility treatments are not successful, the failure of embryos to properly implant in the lining of the uterus is a primary cause.

Skinner earned his Ph.D. at WSU in 1982 and joined the faculty in 1996. He serves on the board of directors of the Biotechnology Industry Organization and receives major research funding from the National Institutes of Health for work on male reproduction and from the Environmental Protection Agency for studies of the reproductive toxicology of endocrine disruptors. He is also director of the WSU Center for Integrated Biotechnology.

The Nature article is titled, “LPA3-mediated lysophosphatidic acid signaling in embryo implantation and spacing.” Lead author is Xiaoqin Ye of Chun’s lab.