Department of Toxicology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health & Aristogenics, Hefei, China; Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Department of Histology and Embryology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China; Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory of Population Health & Aristogenics, Hefei, China.
Reprod Toxicol. 2017 Oct;73:241-249. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2017.06.047. Epub 2017 Jun 26.
Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent especially in men. Nevertheless, whether vitamin D deficiency impairs male reproduction remains under debate. The aim of this study is to investigate whether vitamin D deficiency has an impact on testicular development and spermatogenesis in mice. In the control group and vitamin D deficient (VDD) diet group, dams and their pups were fed with standard-chow diet and VDD diet, respectively. Interestingly, testicular weight and sperm quality are reduced, testicular germ cell proliferation is suppressed, and the percentage of mature seminiferous tubules is decreased in VDD diet-fed mice. Moreover, testicular testosterone (T) synthesis enzymes are down-regulated in VDD diet-fed mice. Correspondingly, serum and testicular T levels are reduced in VDD diet-fed mice. Importantly, fertility index is reduced and live fetuses are decreased when both males and females are fed with VDD diet. These results provide evidence that vitamin D deficiency impairs testicular development and spermatogenesis.
维生素 D 缺乏症尤其常见于男性。然而，维生素 D 缺乏是否会损害男性生殖功能仍存在争议。本研究旨在探讨维生素 D 缺乏是否会对小鼠的睾丸发育和精子发生产生影响。在对照组和维生素 D 缺乏（VDD）饮食组中，母鼠及其幼崽分别喂食标准饮食和 VDD 饮食。有趣的是，VDD 饮食组的小鼠睾丸重量和精子质量降低，睾丸生殖细胞增殖受到抑制，成熟生精小管的比例减少。此外，VDD 饮食组的睾丸睾酮（T）合成酶下调。相应地，VDD 饮食组的血清和睾丸 T 水平降低。重要的是，当雄性和雌性都喂食 VDD 饮食时，生育指数降低，活胎减少。这些结果提供了证据表明维生素 D 缺乏会损害睾丸发育和精子发生。
