The Technion researchers for the first time cracked the mechanism of the creation of a bethulin membrane in a worm

This is the first time that the way the hymen is created in the animal world and the first family of sibling proteins have been characterized

The researchers of the Faculty of Biology at the Technion succeeded in discovering a protein responsible for the creation of the hymen in the worm. The research was published yesterday in the prestigious scientific journal Developmental Cell and is a continuation of their groundbreaking research on cell fusion.
The ability of two cells to fuse into one large cell (fusion between cells) is an essential and fateful process during fertilization (fusion between sperm and egg) in the entire animal world and in humans. Also, this process is responsible for the development of several vital body tissues, such as the skeleton, the placental muscles and other tissues. In addition, fusion between cells is a crucial step in the infection of body cells by a virus.
In the past, the same researchers characterized the protein EFF-1, which causes fusion between cells. In the current study, Dr. Amir Sapir and Professor Benjamin Podbilevich, in collaboration with researchers from the American Institute of Health and Baylor University in Houston, identified another splice protein, 1AFF-. Cells concentrated by the protein AFF-1 form the hymen which stretches between the uterus and the egg-laying organ of the worm and is similar in function to the hymen in women. This is the first time that the way the hymen is formed in the animal world has been characterized. This study raises many questions regarding the function and necessity of the hymen, questions that are also relevant regarding the hymen in women.  
"We were looking for proteins similar to the EFF-1 protein and that's how we found the AFF-1 protein," says Dr. Sapir. "At the same time, researchers at Baylor University, led by Dr. Anna Newman, also found the protein. Therefore, we decided to join forces in order to characterize the protein in a better way. For this purpose, we cooperated with a third laboratory at the American Institute of Health, headed by Dr. Leonid Chernomordyk, who specializes in the study of fusion of the influenza virus. Master student Uri Avinoam and research assistant Clary Valensi also participated in the characterization of the protein in the laboratory.
At the same time as the importance of the characterization of AFF-1 as the first protein that forms a cell membrane, the characterization of AFF-1 is an important step in understanding the fusion mechanism. "Prior to the current study, we only had one fraternal protein (EFF-1). Now we have two proteins, EFF-1 and (AFF-1), which constitute the first family of fraternal proteins," adds Professor Podbilevich. "Now we are looking for 'relatives' are more distant that work in the fusion process in humans. If found - perhaps we will contribute to the development of the ability to heal diseased tissues and organs by fusing with healthy stem cells, to finding new ways to limit the development of a cancerous tumor by preventing the fusion of the cancer cells and perhaps - in the distant future - deciphering the mechanism by which An egg and sperm unite, something that will be a solution to the problem of childless couples."