On August 28, 2020, Professor Feng Zhang of Fudan University, and his collaborators published an online article entitled “Disruption in ACTL7A causes acrosomal ultrastructural defects in human and mouse sperm as a novel male factor inducing early embryonic arrest” in Science Advances. The study discovered the first mutated gene ACTL7A that caused early embryonic abortion due to male genetic factors, and clarified the pathogenic mechanism of ACTL7A mutation. At the same time, it was found that artificial oocyte activation (AOA) technology can successfully overcome embryo stagnation due to ACTL7A/Actl7a mutation, and made Actl7a mutant male mice obtained healthy offspring, providing a therapeutic direction for such patients.

Links: https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/35/eaaz4796