Reactive oxygen species and male reproductive hormones
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Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC
Abstract
Reports of the increasing incidence of male infertility paired with decreasing semen quality have triggered studies
on the effects of lifestyle and environmental factors on the male reproductive potential. There are numerous exogenous
and endogenous factors that are able to induce excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) beyond that of
cellular antioxidant capacity, thus causing oxidative stress. In turn, oxidative stress negatively affects male reproductive
functions and may induce infertility either directly or indirectly by affecting the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG)
axis and/or disrupting its crosstalk with other hormonal axes. This review discusses the important exogenous and
endogenous factors leading to the generation of ROS in different parts of the male reproductive tract. It also highlights
the negative impact of oxidative stress on the regulation and cross-talk between the reproductive hormones. It further
describes the mechanism of ROS-induced derangement of male reproductive hormonal profiles that could ultimately
lead to male infertility. An understanding of the disruptive effects of ROS on male reproductive hormones would
encourage further investigations directed towards the prevention of ROS-mediated hormonal imbalances, which in turn
could help in the management of male infertility.
Description
Keywords
Antioxidants, Hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, Male infertility, Oxidative stress, Reactive oxygen species, Testosterone
Citation
Darbandi, M. et al. (2018). Reactive oxygen species and male reproductive hormones. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, 16: 87