Injection that can contraceptive female cats without surgery is developed, expected to reduce slaughter of stray cats
Pets may undergo
Durable contraception in the female domestic cat using viral-vectored delivery of a feline anti-Müllerian hormone transgene | Nature Communications
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38721-0
Gene therapy produces long-term contraception in female domestic cats: The study's findings offer a potential alternative to surgical spaying -- ScienceDaily
Birth Control for Cats? Gene Therapy May Offer a Method - The New York Times
If humans keep cats as pets, it is relatively easy to perform sterilization surgery, but in the case of stray cats, activities by the local community are essential when performing sterilization surgery. However, it takes a huge amount of time and money to sterilize all stray cats in the area. There is also the problem that if stray cats that have not undergone sterilization are left unattended, it will be difficult to manage the population of stray cats.
If the number of stray cats increases, the environment may deteriorate due to feces and urine, and the number of collisions between cats and cars may increase. Currently, stray cats, which have increased too much, are dealt with by methods such as culling, which has become an ethical problem.
William Swanson, director of animal research at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, said, ``Cost and time-consuming alternatives to conventional sterilization have been devised by many researchers over the decades. No method has yet been found that is more effective than sterilization.'
However, a research team led by David Pepin of Massachusetts General Hospital is a hormone that suppresses the work of the uterus and fallopian tubes, called `` anti-Mullerian hormone '' (AMH), which is formed from the Mullerian tube in the female body. Focusing on , we found that raising the level of AMH above a certain threshold suppressed the growth of ovaries and follicles . Suppression of ovarian and follicle growth has been shown to effectively prevent the process of ovulation and conception.
The research team created
By injecting gene therapy pector, it is possible to deliver genes that enter muscle cells and produce AMH, which is originally produced only in the ovaries, in muscle cells. According to Pepin, muscle cells also produce AMH, which raises overall levels of AMH in the body about 100 times normal.
In addition, since muscle cells basically do not die for the rest of their lives, it has been speculated that the AMH-producing gene introduced by injection may last a lifetime.
The research team compared 6 female cats injected with gene therapy pector to 3 female cats that were not injected.
After two years of observation, all three non-injected cats gave birth. On the other hand, one of the cats injected with gene therapy pector had a total of nine matings, but none of the six gave birth. All injected female cats reported no side effects from the injection.
Veterinarian Philippe Godin said, ``The female cat's AMH level remains high even after two years from the injection, and the injection that raises the AMH level increases the possibility of pregnancy for a long time. It seems to be declining,' he said.
Swanson said, ``If we can do a larger study with more cats and confirm that injection contraceptives are durable over the long term, veterinarians should consider surgical intervention for sterilization of cats. It may eliminate the need for specialized expertise.”
On the other hand, Mr. Pepin said, 'This technology may be a little too ahead of its time,' he said, adding that the amount of injections needed to produce enough injections to treat the myriad of stray cats is necessary. It reveals that the infrastructure has not been developed. However, ``If the ability to manufacture this injection improves, it may be possible to control the total population of cats by capturing and injecting stray cats.''
However, The New York Times said, ``In order to get a stray cat to receive an injection, it is necessary to first capture the cat, but the presence of cats that are good at avoiding traps may make it difficult to manage the population. There is a problem that there is, 'he points out.
Still, the research team is making further gene improvements and adjusting delivery methods to increase the effectiveness of injection and make it a cost-effective method.
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