Prenatal testosterone surge is considered crucial for physiological masculinization of male progeny. Disorders in sex steroid hormone balance during the fetal development may interfere with male reproductive health later in life. In this study, we have investigated in utero and in vitro effects of flutamide (FLU) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) on fetal rat testicular steroidogenesis. In utero exposure to FLU 25mg/kg or DES 0.02mg/kg had no obvious effects on ED 19.5 rat testicular testosterone and progesterone production, StAR protein or AR protein expression. However, when ED 19.5 rat testis were cultured for 180min in the presence of 0.1, 1, 10 and 100mg/l of FLU or DES, the highest doses of both compounds were capable of disturbing steroidogenesis. To study the rate of the changes seen in testicular steroidogenesis after 180min, time-series experiments, in which intact testes were cultured with FLU 100mg/l or DES 100mg/l for 30, 60 or 120min, were performed. In vitro time-series experiments revealed that changes in steroidogenesis occur very fast. Experiments with FLU brought further evidence to the hypothesis that ARs have negative autocrine role in developing Leydig cells.
Diabetes can affect male fertility via oxidative stress and endocrine system disruption. Nanomedicine based on natural products is employed to address diabetes complications. The current study aims to investigate the potential beneficial effect of propolis extract nanoparticles against diabetes-induced testicular damage in male rats.
Atrazine is an herbicide widely used on plantations worldwide. Experimental studies suggest that the herbicide impairs male reproductive function in mammals. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of atrazine exposure on the levels of hormones from the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis using murine as the animal model.
Male fertility results from a complex interplay of physiological, environmental, and genetic factors. It is conditioned by the properly developed anatomy of the reproductive system, hormonal regulation balance, and the interplay between different cell populations that sustain an appropriate and functional environment in the testes. Unfortunately, the mechanisms sustaining male fertility are not flawless and their perturbation can lead to infertility.
The population responds to environmental variability largely determined by the dynamic interactions between fitness components within- and among-individual variation in the expression of the environmentally sensitive phenotype. The study was conducted on daily and seasonal changes in the expression of steroidogenic gene markers and corresponding seasonal changes in the physiological characters in adult male tree sparrows. Two experiments were performed.
Nanoplastics (NPs) exposure could disrupt the synthesis of steroid hormones, thereby posing a potential threat to male reproductive health. However, the existing comprehension of the molecular mechanisms participating in this process remains limited, and the reversibility of NPs-triggered male reproductive toxicity is poorly understood. This investigation focused on the impact of histone modification on testosterone production in mice under long-term exposure to environmentally relevant doses of polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs).
